A Slightly Bitter Love Story
by HeavenlyDIO
Summary: Shogeki Akira, top student of UA's Class 2-A, has been tasked with keeping an eye on a certain murderous sociopath. He doesn't particularly enjoy it.
1. Meeting Shogeki Akira

Within UA's office building, through the twisting corridors and dozens of offices, you would find the head office of one Nedzu, the genius animal whose eye for talent and strategy remained unmatched. Within this office, a particularly curious group had assembled. Nedzu himself- it was his office after all- One of Nedzu's trusted teachers, the ever logical Aizawa Shouta, and, oddly enough, the Rank 5 Pro Hero Miruko, arms crossed and foot tapping in annoyance.

The two humans stood behind Nedzu's desk, flanking the small rodent as they stared at the student sitting in the center of the room. They were tall for a 17 year old, and they had longer black hair that fell down their face in long wavy strands, although it was still much shorter than Aizawa's own unkempt hairstyle. The boy, whose face was twisted into a sour expression of frustration, sat with his arms crossed, glaring at the Rabbit Hero with as much heat and anger as she had been sending his way for the last 15 quiet minutes.

Nedzu figured it was about time they broke that silence. "Shogeki-kun, you could just say no, you've been glaring at that file fo-"

"Alright sick, later-"

"Sit your ass down, boy!" Shogeki Akira groaned in frustration while Nedzu just sighed, asking Miruko to keep her voice down. She harumphed loudly, crossing her arms and continuing to bare her teeth at her student intern. He gave her back just as much as she gave him, really really not in the mood for her shit today.

"Shogeki-kun," Nedzu decided to try again, "While I can't force you to accept this offer, I'm sure it will be of great benefit to the both of us."

"Look Nedzu-sensei, I get it, I really do, but how the hell would I benefit from this? I already have to deal with my classes and training, not to mention my internship with this bitch!" He gestured to Miruko, who just rolled her eyes at him. "I don't have time for any of this, not that I would want to do it anyway."

"Hey brat," Shogeki looked back over at Miruko, who had lost her scowl, "Quit being a jackass and actually think this through. The League has had a leg up on the heroes for too long, and we finally managed to catch one. This is a victory these whelps," She gestured to Nedzu and Aizawa with her head, "Desperately need. Now quit causing problems and put what I've taught you into action."

The student pinched his nose, trying to ignore the small bit of shame he was feeling that was quickly replaced with more annoyance. He turned to Nedzu, "Alright, alright. Let's say I agree to this crazy ass plan you've got. What then? I still have my classwork, plus my extra coursework for advanced classes, and hero training, and my internship. I'm running on fumes at the end of my days as is, I don't have the time to play babysitter to some blonde bimbo in a sailor outfit."

"We've thought it over," Aizawa spoke up, bringing the students attention to him, "And we're prepared to transfer some of your classes into a workload only structure. You'll be given all of your work for that class at the beginning of the month, and you'll be able to complete them on your own time- Lectures no longer required."

Shogeki hummed, "Alright, but what classes? Hero training is obviously not an option, I'm acing the entirety of mathematics, so I guess that? And Modern Hero Art History, not that I give a damn about that class anyway."

"Is that so?" Nedzu glanced over at Aizawa in the corner of the room, who returned the look with a dead stare. Looking back, the ferret-like creature shuffled around a few papers on his desk and said, "I think we can drop Modern Hero Art and Mathematics."

The student blew air out of his nose in thought, before he sighed, nodded his head, and leaned forward to sign the paperwork. He shook Nedzu's paw and asked, "When am I getting her?"

"We'll have the police bring her to your dorm in about a week. We'll make your classmates aware of the basics of the situation and we'll help you rearrange your room to accommodate."

"Yeah, that makes sense" I'm gonna nee- Wait, wait wait wait, she's gonna be shacking up with me?! I agreed to babysit her, not marry the psycho."

Aizawa jumped in with, "There needs to be a constant watch over her, so measures will be taken to ensure she's never more than 20 meters away from you. Any chance she has to escape or cause harm to another student, she'll no doubt take, so you can't let her out of your sight. Hygiene and other more private concerns will be deliberated to a female classmate of your choosing, however the large majority of her captivity is your responsibility."

"The hell is gonna stop her from slitting my neck in my sleep?"

"We'll be changing the lock on your door from the standard deadbolt to a special electromagnetic lock that Power Loader is designing. It'll only open when a current of 2 Million Volts run through it, a dangerous level of electricity that very few people in this school have the ability to interact with."

"Alright, I see how she'll be unable to escape, but you glossed over the bit about her maybe killing me."

"All staff and students will be made aware that opening that door themselves will result in severe consequences, meaning that if she kills you, she'll be left to starve to death."

"Glad to see my safety is of such a high conce-" Miruko clocked him on the head, a sign that he should probably quit running his mouth. Growling and feeling a bit of blood in his mouth, he swallowed and gave up trying to figure out the situation and just stood up to leave. "I'll assume you assholes won't just leave me to die and take my leave then. Need to make sure I hide most of my important shit at my dad's place, but I'll wait on you guys to help with the furniture stuff. Anything else I should know?"

"Yeah, actually." Miruko spoke up, "Stop giving the cops such a hard time, you're not a pro hero yet, so the cops are gonna have to go through the standard procedures whenever you actually bag a criminal. It's not their fault, so stop acting like a jackass."

"I'm not giving them a hard time, I'm just showing them a video on my phone that I've found to validate my actions."

"Oh god, it's not Stain's video is it?" Aizawa asks from the corner.

"No, it's a video of me saying 'Shogeki Akira is my intern and he'll do what he wants'." Miruko gave the second-year student a look like she was just asking him to argue with her. Well, if she was asking…

"Well, you did let me record that video."

"Because that was the only way I could get you to quit calling me at 3 am from the police station every time your sorry ass got arrested for beating up thugs when you couldn't sleep!"

"And I haven't woken you up since, now have I?"

"Shogeki-kun, you can return to class now." Nedzu interrupted what was quickly becoming a pissing contest before either of them could come to blows, or more realistically, before Miruko could beat him into the ground for disrespecting her authority.

The younger hero in training was only too happy to leave, saying over his shoulder, "I don't have to go to Mathematics anymore, so I'm heading back to my room. Later boys." A snarky handwave followed and it was only Aizawa's capture gear that stopped the rabbit hero from chasing him down.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Damnit man, I thought we told you not to get yourself expelled." The voice that came from behind him was playful, if not still somehow mature at the same time.

With a heavy sigh, Shogeki looked up from packing a box with now-unneeded textbooks and over to his door, mildly upset to see Totsu standing there with his arms crossed. "Will you fuck off and leave me alone for once in your life, I've got enough shit to do without having to play 20 questions with you."

"Oh please, we both know I'd kick your ass at-"

"Coffee table."

"What are you, a wizard?! How do you do that?"

"You always guess coffee table first, even Hamada knows that, and she's as scatterbrained as they come." Totsu pouted, ignoring Shogeki's very obvious annoyance and sitting on his bed. "What do you want, Totsu, I'm busy. I have to make room for a roommate, because being forced to live with all of you apparently wasn't punishment enough."

"Would you lighten up, it's probably not that ba-"

"She's a serial killer who's killed over 90 people."

"You're complaining about sharing a room with a chick? Don't you know that half of the guys in our class would kill to be in your shoes right now?"

"Did you literally not hear a single word I just said?"

"Wait, you're tossing your neons?!" Totsu pointed to a box of neon wall signs wrapped in an excessive number of towels. "Dude, those are sick, I'll give you 10,000 yen for them."

"First of all, those are worth at least 500,000 total, so fuck off my dick with this 10,000 shit. Second, fuck you, third, I'm not tossing them, I'm taking them back to my dad's place for safekeeping. Supposedly this bitch can kill with her teeth, so I'm not gonna give her chemical weapons in the shape of a glass pineapple."

"Ooh, are we making fruit salads in here? I heard pineapple!" This time the voice was high pitched and feminine, and the face in the doorway was one made completely of water.

"Hamada, get out of here, we're not making fruit salads, I'm movi- Why won't you people leave me alone! Go away, Kikai!" Shogeki screamed at the large robotic student that had appeared behind Hamada, spooking them a bit. The robot charged down the hall, seemingly upset, leading Hamada to voice her thoughts on Shogeki's rudeness. "Goddamnit, Totsu, go get Kikai and calm them down, I need to talk to Hamada about some shit."

"Don't go sleeping around, now, your new girlfriend will get all upset." The shorter boy left with a cheeky laugh, ducking under a textbook thrown his way.

"Stupid bastard. You can't even have sex, Hamada, your body doesn't allow it… Right?" Shogeki shot the water girl a look, gesturing to her body.

"Well, not with you Sparky, you'd drive me a different type of crazy."

"Can you not do this?"

"Like, I get what you mean, bu-" He shoved his arm into her shoulder and released a small shock, causing her body to lose its shape and collapse into a puddle, her clothes falling with wet smack.

"I get that you love talking, but seriously shut up for a minute." She reformed just her upper body, sticking out of the floor and causing water damage that he'd probably have to fix later but whatever. "The principal is giving me one of those League bastards to keep an eye on, and there's certain shit I can't really do. You're gonna be in charge of that shit."

"Like what?"

"Like making sure she's not turning a wall tile into a shank when she's in the shower or something. Despite Totsu's efforts, we don't have co-ed bathrooms, so I'm not really allowed to be around when she's showering, so you'll have to tag in for that."

"How's it pay?"

"…Fuckin what?"

"How much are you paying me? This is a job right?"

"No, I'm not getting paid, so neither are you bitch. Got a problem, talk to Nedzu, now get out."

"Fine, I will talk to Nedzu." Hamada pouted, reforming the rest of her body and walking out of his room with her arms crossed.

With a deep sigh, Shogeki put the last few textbooks into the box and taped it up, carrying it down to the common room. He sent a message to his father to figure out a time to pick them up and went back up to his room. Taking a quick look around, he decided he'd done enough with his day and retreated back to his room, planning to lie down on his bed to wait until dinner. He used his phone to look up some extra info on this Toga chick he was gonna have to be putting up with. He was aware of the basics, just about anyone knew who the League of Villains were, and the names of the members had become common knowledge to most.

After 20 minutes of searching the internet, he still hasn't found any news of her capture. He had to give it to Miruko, when she decided she wanted to keep quiet she actually pulled off the impossible and didn't make a scene. Since he figured he wasn't gonna find anything he didn't already know, he put his phone to the side and crossed his arms behind his head. Once Toga was passed off to him, he fully expected his precious peace and quiet would disappear in its entirety. It would be wise to savor it while he still could.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

2-A Student Spotlight

Shogeki Akira- Male

Birthday- 8-10

Quirk- Electricity

Hero Name- The Gigawatt Hero: Shock Jockey

Heroic Rank 1

Academic Rank 3

6 foot tall, angry, tired, and rarely irrational. Extremely overworked and irritable. Top of the class, with a strong belief in the law. From a long family of servicemen. Black hair past his shoulders, often tied back. Piercings in his eyebrow, nose, ear and lips.


	2. First Day, First Night

"I can't help but feel that I'm the only one taking this seriously." Shogeki gave a side-eyed glance to the teachers standing around with him, a few of them not even in costume, and a select few playing on their phones. Hell, he even bothered putting his own costume on, mask and all, and it was a real pain in the ass tying his hair up in a way that makes the whole thing comfortable. Now these chuckle-fucks weren't even putting in any effort, so what the hell was even the point? Not to mention it was the fuckin' break of dawn and he'd been out working last night, so he's running less sleep than some of these morons. They better have a damn good excuse or he'll be throwin' a fit the next chance he's got alone with them.

"Most of us are teachers that work during the day, we're used to sleeping in on Saturdays." Kayama tried to argue, yawning halfway through her sentence, which just made Shogeki hum sarcastically. Of course they didn't have a good excuse.

'I'm starting to think I give them too much credit.' He thought. "Hey, Yagi-sensei, how long till the bitch gets here?" Shogeki turned to Yagi, who had just gotten off the phone with the police. "And I'd like a real answer this time, not a half-assed excuse."

"Wow, you're really not a morning person, are you?" Aizawa smirked at the younger hero, curled up in his sleeping bag like the hypocrite he is.

"They should be arriving soon, Shogeki-shonen, we won't have to wait much longer. For now, we should focus on making sure we look presentable." Yagi interrupted before their little spat became an argument. Shogeki turned back to the road and pulled out his phone, trying to field messages from his shit friends asking about the prisoner. In keeping with his brand, Totsu was still referring to this Toga chick as his "girlfriend", so the next time he pissed him off, Shogeki'll just let her stab him. Hell, he might even tell her how to actually hurt the bastard.

"Well, before they get here, I think I finally deserve an answer as to why you morons are sticking me with this chick. Am I being punished for something someone else did? I barely do anything outside of school and hero work, so I can only assume somebody else fucked up."

Nedzu decided to explain his reasoning to the student. "Toga holds a wealth of information into the inner workings of the League of Villains, and information like that doesn't come around every day. You'll be watching over Toga in order to gain her trust in order for her to reveal certain details to you. Once we've gotten what we need, she'll be handed back over to the police and will be given proper treatment to ensure her mental health while she serves her sentence for her crimes."

"Again, you're forgetting the part where I get dragged into this."

"Toga's primary weapons are knives and needles, anything sharp and metallic." Aizawa spoke up, "Your quirk allows your body to be a living conduit for electricity. If she stabs you, she'll be hit with a few thousand volts, which would normally kill a person. If that happens, we'd expect you to use your quirk to restart her heart and restrain her until a member of staff arrives." The older man sighed before he continued, "As an aside, there are certain individuals in the first year that would aggravate Toga's mental condition, and the third years are stretched incredibly thin between their schoolwork and their internships. You work mostly at night and have shown that your schedule hasn't been affected by that, and you already skip most of your classes while doing the work on your own time."

"But more than anything, Shogeki-kun," Nedzu continued, "Despite your unique personality, you've shown yourself to be responsible enough to take on such a long term assignment. Plus, should your efforts yield enough fruit, I might see it fit to reward you."

Shogeki clicked his tongue, "So my own efforts towards some peace and quiet in my life has made me the best candidate for a loud and crazy assignment. God damnit."

Soon enough, a full police escort pulled up outside of the school, transporting a police van with Toga inside. She was led out by a squad of armed guards, cuffed and chained all to shit, with that Detective Tsukauchi guy leading her by a chain. Shogeki had to force down a chuckle when he noticed that Toga had been forced to wear a muzzle, yet despite this her eyes showed a child-like joy. Muffled words came from behind the muzzle, seemingly uncaring that they couldn't be heard, making him smirk behind his mask.

"Aww, she's like a puppy." He said with some amusement. He then turned to the Detective, his voice dropping into a deadpan, "Do you want her back? I'm sure you'd enjoy raising such a cute thing."

Detective Tsukauchi gave a nervous chuckle, passing the keys to her restraints over to Shogeki. "Sorry, my wife and I are more into cats than we are into dogs."

"Figures. Well, let's get going Stabby, I've got to get you settled before I can get on with my day, so let's get to it." He grabbed the chain that the Detective had been holding and started walking back to the dorms, dragging Toga along with him. Even muzzled, she was talking her head off, looking around the campus like a child at a theme park for the first time, and it was pissing him off. Luckily, it was about 4am, meaning that despite it being a Saturday, all of the students were still asleep, keeping Toga's presence at the school a secret. The only people who'd be aware that she was here was the staff and the students of 2-A, which was already more than he'd consider safe but oh well.

He led her through the door into the second year common room, where Shogeki had gathered a select few of his classmates to introduce her to. The second he walked into the room, however, he already wanted to kill himself. Three of his classmates were there, and granted he'd woken them up an hour ago, but he'd have been a liar if he said the sight of them didn't cause him grief.

"Dude, what the hell, why are you in costume?" Totsu asked from the couch, looking over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow. Beside him were Hamada and Kikai, both of whom were sitting on the floor to avoid breaking/ruining the couch.

"Because unlike you morons, as well as apparently half the god damn staff, I'm a professional." Shogeki argued, still annoyed with some of the teachers.

"Yeah okay, Mr. Professional, why are you still in costume?"

"Because parts of my suit are heavy and awkward to just carry around, and I've got to make sure this bitch doesn't cause any problems. Alright, let's just get this over with then." He yanked on the chain a bit, causing the villain to stumble forward a bit. "Toga, these are my classmates who will be helping me watch over you." He pointed to Hamada first, "That's Hamada Arisu, she'll be watching over you when the situation would be considered immoral for me to be there, such as bathing, changing, and the works. Also, she can't be stabbed, so don't even try."

"Shogeki-kun, stop being so mean, she's already all tied up. Can't you at least take the mask off of her?" Hamada, always the ditz, didn't seem to feel the glare Shogeki was sending her way, so he had to verbally shut down that stupid suggestion.

"Moving on, that's Totsu Hayate, he's incredibly difficult to stab, so it's not worth the effort of trying to stab him. Behave yourself, and I might teach you how to hurt him in a way that matters."

"Dude, the fuck?" Totsu looked at Shogeki like he'd been stabbed in the heart, which was fitting for their current situation.

"Quit trying to bribe my dad into selling you my shit. If I wanted to sell them, I'd have fuckin' sold 'em, and I would have sold 'em for what they're worth, not the pocket change you've been trying to bag them for." He then gestured to the 8-foot-tall robot sitting on the floor nearby. "Lastly, this is Kikai Kameyo. The full explanation would require me to have a full night's sleep and to brush up on my hardware textbooks, but the short of it is that they're a robot. No blood, no bones, just robot. They open up their stomach and shove metal into it and they can fix or augment their body. Most notably, it's really hard to stab a robot. By now, I hope you've started to notice a pattern here."

Kikai waved to her from their spot on the floor, their movements a bit slower than normal, which Shogeki noticed. "Kikai, you've done your part, you can go and rest up or whatever it is you do."

"You can't just give me a charge, Darling? It would be oh so helpful." The robot's voice was of a higher pitch than you'd expect, and it was slightly distorted with static, as though their voice was coming through an aged speaker, which wouldn't be too far from the truth.

"Not anymore, I've got to start keeping my charge in order to leave my room. Fuckin' 2 million volts, that's bullshit. Let's go Toga, we need to get you settled into your new room." With that, he pulled away from the others, trying to ignore how she was trying to wave at them despite her restraints, making it seem like she was twitching the right side of her body. He led her to his door, thankful that he lucked out and got a room on the first floor.

As was promised, the walls surrounding his room had been reinforced and a special electromagnetic lock was installed onto a similarly reinforced door. In order to make it easier for Shogeki, a special wall outlet was installed beside the door, which was directly connected to UA's electrical grid, meaning that charging himself with 2 million volts was easier than it would normally be. Opening the door, he resisted the urge to just push Toga into the room, but instead he let her walk in of her own volition.

He closed the door behind him and dropped her chain, throwing the keys onto his bed and removed the muzzle from Toga's mouth, surprised that she didn't immediately start talking. Instead, she started looking around the room, a look on her face that Shogeki chose to ignore. He roughly pulled off his mask, making the hairpins he'd been using to keep his hair in place to fall loose, which caused some hair to fall into his face. Brushing it aside, he threw his mask onto his bed and started taking off his wrist guards.

"Wait, are you stripping?" Toga asked, a surprised look on her face.

"Glad to see you put a lot of thought into your first words, girl. This is my room and I keep my suit in my room, it's a pain in the ass to carry around big pieces of copper. I'll change in the bathroom for the most part but my suit doesn't leave this room unless I'm cleaning it or wearing it."

She giggled in a way that was far more creepy than was needed. "Aw, I'm glad you're not too shy. I think we'll get along just fine. Now, do you think you can let me go? Pretty please?" She shifted her face into what Shogeki guessed was supposed to be puppy dog eyes, which made his earlier statement to the Detective all the more accurate. Guess he was gonna have to teach her the rules far sooner than he thought.

"Alright, here's what's gonna happen." Now shirtless, having taken off the top half of his suit, he picked up the keys and began to undo her restraints. "To the left of us is my side of the room. On that side is my bed, next to which is a small nightstand. There's a drawer in it, and inside that drawer is a small knife that I borrowed from Totsu to help me fix the holes I'd nailed into the walls. I'm gonna finish removing these restraints, then I'm gonna grab my clothes, and I'm gonna go to the bathroom to change. And nothing is going to happen."

Having been silent during his whole spiel, she now stood completely still with no emotion on her face. He nodded, hooked the keys onto the copper choker he wore, turned around to grab some clothes from his dresser and, without looking back, made his way to the door. Now he'll admit, it's pretty impressive that she managed to get the knife so quickly without making any noise, especially when he was listening for the little squeaking sound that the drawer made when you open it too slowly. But the second the tip of the knife pierced his skin, a bright spark lit up the room and Toga fell to the ground, arguably dead. Shogeki sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose, and counted off a few seconds beforekneeling down beside her and channeling an electric charge into his fingers. Timing it in his head, he used his hands as a defibrillator to restart her heart, holding her down while she jolted back to consciousness and wrestling the knife from her hands.

"I'm gonna go get changed now. Try not to die while I'm gone." He patted her on the cheek before walking out of the room. On his way to the bathroom, he knocked on Totsu's door and gave him his knife back, hoping he won't have to teach his new "friend" this lesson a second time.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

A tugging sensation on his neck is what woke Shogeki up in the middle of the night, the clock on his nightstand reading 3am. Sitting on his chest was Toga, in her hands was the small steel tag he wore on his choker, long before he added the keys. She was squinting, trying to read it, but it was just too dark. The window in his room had been removed in order to properly reinforce the walls, so not even moonlight lit up the room.

"It says 'Yonah', she was my dog when I was younger. She died, and I kept her tag. Now get off of me."

"Oh?" Toga sounded way too coy for his liking, "Does the big hero not li-" She was cut off when her body was shoved to the ground. Luckily for Shogeki, there was a wall outlet on the wall right by his feet, so he'd built up a charge while he slept, allowing him to use his quirk to turn on the lamp by Toga's bed. They both blinked, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness. With a heavy sigh, the man decided that ignoring her would probably solve all of his problems, so he got out of bed to head to the bathroom.

"If you've gotta go to the bathroom, then let's go, because you're not gonna get a second chance. Some first day this has been." The last part was mumbled under his breath as he pulled on some sweatpants and grabbed a pair of handcuffs, resisting the urge to rattle the cuffs. She might be a murderer, but he probably shouldn't treat her like some kind of animal. Once cuffed, he charged up and opened the door, leading her by the back of her neck down the hall towards the bathroom. He removed the cuffs and walked in with her, ignoring the looks she sent his way.

"Look, normally we wouldn't have this problem, but we still need to set up a bathroom schedule with Hamada, so until then you're stuck with me."

"Am I really supposed to go to the bathroom with you staring at me?" Toga asked, a misplaced smile on her face.

"Y'know, despite your words you sound way too happy about this." The girl only smiled wider, making Shogeki shudder despite himself. He turned to look at the wall, giving the girl some privacy. "Alright, I'm gonna turn my back to you, and let you do your thing. You'll do the same for me, then we can go back to bed. One of us has a job to do tomorrow, and I'm not allowed to skip work in order to babysit."

"So, after everything that's happened today, I don't think you've ever introduced yourself to me. You've shown me off to your friends, but you still haven't told me your name." She went quiet for a minute, which Shogeki had naively taken to mean that she'd chosen to leave him alone. Suddenly, her voice came from directly behind him, her hot breath sending chills up his naked back, "When am I gonna learn the name of my new boyfriend?"

"Girl, if I can feel your breath on me it means you are way too close." He turned around, assuming she'd finished. Grabbing her head, he moved her over to the window. "Here, look at the pretty stars, leave me alone for a minute."

She grabbed the waistband of his pants, throwing her arms around like a child throwing a tantrum. "No! Tell me your name, I wanna know your name! Everyone else gets to say your name, I wanna call my boyfriend by his name!" Shogeki tried shushing her, but she only grew more upset, stamping her feet as her tantrum grew worse.

"Will you be fuckin' quiet, you're gonna wake everyone up! If I tell you my name, you have to be quiet for the rest of the night, got it?" Her eyes lit up, nodding her head so fast he was afraid it would fly off. "Alright, my name is Shogeki Akira, now be quiet okay?" A bright blush covered her face as she cradled her cheeks, swaying back and forth as she giggled and swooned quietly. He took this chance to relieve himself, trying his hardest to ignore the soft mutterings of "Aki-chan" coming from behind him like a creepy-ass chant. Washing his hands, he made to cuff Toga again, this time with almost no resistance from the girl.

He took her back to his room, closing the door behind them and getting her back to bed. She tried to give him a kiss goodnight, to which he threatened to cuff her to her bed, and he climbed back into bed himself. 'Let's hope she doesn't try to climb into bed with me again.' He thought, 'I need at least some sleep if I'm gonna be functional tomorrow.'

XXXXXXXXXXXX

2-A Student Spotlight

Totsu Hayate- Male

Birthday- 6-14

Quirk- Full Cellular Invincibility

Hero Name- The Impasse Hero: Keyframe

Heroic Rank 6

Academic Rank 13

Totsu has black skin and brown dreads tied back in a ponytail. He's normally wearing a grey muscle shirt and black sweatpants, and is rather muscular. Stands at 6'0. Tries to play peacemaker between the more violent students around him. Happy and jovial.

Artwork by Son-of-an-Art-Block on tumblr


	3. Yard Sales and Danger Brew

The front door clicked behind him as he stepped into the doors, smelling of sweat and his costume stained with blood that wasn't his own. Miruko had decided to set him up with long term drug busts for the time being, probably as revenge for mouthing off to her in the meeting earlier that week with Nedzu. As a result, his shifts at the Crescent Moon Agency were now compiled of long stakeouts, information collection, and being forced to listen to Fast Track and Beta Man argue about classic manga over the comms.

One day the Harpy would let him perform his own patrols of his own volition, that'd be the day.

That was the thought going through Shogeki's mind as he stepped into the common room. Toga had been with him for about a week now, and despite her multiple attempts to kill him, everything had been mostly fine. Oddly enough, she hasn't tried to kill his classmates ever since her first failed attempt on each of them, meaning that all of her current murder attempts have been directed at him. Now, Shogeki's a big guy. He's 6ft, same height as his father, and he's a healthy 180lbs. He works hard, and he trains hard, so he knows his limits and what he's able to pull off combat wise. He knows what kind of damage he's able to shrug off. But that doesn't mean he appreciates getting ambushed by this crazy bitch every second of the day!

So, after walking through the common room, tired from having to kick the shit out of some drug dealers downtown, all he wanted to do was collapse into his bed and sleep. Tomorrow was Sunday, which means he needs to go help his father with the yard sale he'd been planning, so he'd need at least some sleep in order to function like a charismatic human being. No one will buy an old piece of furniture if the person selling it to them had the likeability of a dead fish. Unfortunately, a certain blonde psychopath had been lying in wait for him, ready to attack the moment he'd stepped through his door. How she managed to cling to the wall above his door, that he didn't know. However, he'd have plenty of time to figure it out once he's removed her thighs from around his neck!

He didn't charge himself much more than what he needed to get through his door, so it took him a second to hit Toga with a big enough shock to take her down. He quickly stood up and grabbed her arms, forcing them behind her back and trying to ignore the moans she was making at his rough treatment. He restrained her with the handcuffs he'd normally use for work, and, giving up, he dragged her to the kitchen.

"Clearly you're not gonna let me get any sleep tonight, so I'm just gonna give up and get an early start on my day. I'll take a nap at my dad's place or something. Let's hope Diariseki left some of his energy drinks in the fridge, I'll just replace what I take." The rest of his words were lost in a series of tired mumbles as he cuffed Toga to the fridge.

"So how was work, Aki-chan?" The blonde asked with a bright smile, a small blush dusting her cheeks. Shogeki turned to stare tiredly at his assignment, death in his dark eyes, before he turned back to the fridge and took out a few energy drinks. He moved over to the coffee machine and started brewing a pot while he found a pan and spatula.

"I'm ignoring you, now what type of pancakes do you want? Normal or chocolate chip?"

"But I don't like pancakes, I like waffles."

"Oh boy, it's a good thing that I'm ignoring you then." She pouted and crossed her arms, watching him as he started gathering what he needed to cook. The coffee machine finished brewing a pot, leading to the man pouring half a cup of coffee and mixing it with an energy drink. "Y'know, this probably is really unhealthy, but I'm at the point where injecting myself with adrenaline is sounding like a good idea, so what's the worst that can happen?" He downed the whole cup in one go, his face scrunching up at the bitterness of both the coffee and the terrible energy drinks that Diariseki likes. Coughing, he poured himself another cup of Diariseki's patent-pending Danger Brew and set to work making the pancakes.

"Alright, here's the plan for today." Toga looked up, still pouting at him, "My dad is having a yard sale today to get rid of some of his old shit, and he roped me into helping him. So, while I'm doing that, you're going to be inside the house restrained all to hell and back, because you can't be trusted to behave properly around normal people."

"That's not true! I can behave, I can do it, you just don't believe in me, Aki-chan!" She exclaimed.

"Bitch, you tried to stab me literally seconds after I told you that stabbing me would kill you, don't stand there and pretend you know how normal people act."

Toga started stamping her feet, waving her arms around, "No, I can do it, let me help, I wanna help Aki-chan!" Shogeki sighed, running his hands down his face as he watched the girl getting ready to throw a tantrum. He looked over at the clock on the stove and saw that it was still only 4:30, and sighed.

"Jesus christ, fine. I'll let you help us set up the tables and move some stuff around, but once people start showing up, I'm locking you in my old room. Happy?"

The blonde's eyes lit up as Toga started giggling and swaying on her feet, nodding her head wildly. Shogeki rolled his eyes and set up a plate for her, grabbing a plastic fork and knife from the drawer and brought it over to the dining table. He set her up and leaned against the wall, hoping he could close his eyes for just a few short minutes.

"What are you doing up past curfew?" Shogeki's eyes shot open mere seconds after they'd closed, bloodshot and dilated as he turned to stare wildly at Aizawa. The teacher looked just as sleep deprived as always, but he seemed surprised by Shogeki's own manic expression.

Resisting the urge to gouge his own eyes out, he said, "Alright, well it started when Miruko scheduled me until 3:30 in the morning. So, when I clocked out she came up to me and asked, 'Whoa, hey, what are you doing, you have another area you need to patrol.' So I said, 'You scheduled me till 3:30, go fuck yourself.' And then I left."

"So you're telling me you abandoned your duties?"

"No, I'm telling you that I have a full time job watching Goldilocks over there, you know, that job you UA assholes dropped on me. Might wanna remember that if you want to give me shit. I could always just let her go."

"You'd be held responsible for any lives that she'd take after she leaves."

"Better than being responsible for the morons you call my classmates, now go away." He waved Aizawa away, wincing when he took a sip of his coffee. "Oh, wait, I'm sorry, that was rude of me. Here, would you like something to drink." He gestured to the pot of Danger Brew he'd placed on the table, which made Aizawa raise an eyebrow as he noticed the pot was bubbling and smoking way more than coffee should.

"That looks like it would kill a person. There's no way I'm drinking that."

"To each their own, I'm guessing, one of us is just a bit more of a bitch, hmm?" Shogeki said casually, leaning against the table and staring down his old teacher. They stood there for a few moments staring at each other, until the loud sounds of Toga eating her pancakes interrupted them. They both looked over to see that she was in her own little world, eating the pancakes she claimed she hated while looking all around the room while she swung her legs back and forth.

"Make sure she doesn't get into trouble, and don't let her out of your sight when you take her out today. Here's your permission papers." He passed the student a folder of paperwork, which confused Shogeki.

"Excuse me, you dropped this girl on me without nary a second of hesitation. I'll take her wherever the fuck I want."

"Alright, the staff let you get away with quite a lot here, but watch your mouth and keep the noise down."

"Yeah, sure, just leave me to my suffering. Why are even up, anyway?"

The older hero sighed, "My class has had problems with meeting their curfew in the past, so I've taken to checking that it's being followed. At least you're not getting into fights."

"How many problem children do you have this year? I know Dairiseki and I gave you plenty of shit, they any worse than us?"

"Well, I have 3 this year, and you have no idea how easy I had it last year." Aizawa checked his watch. "I have to get going, just make sure you don't cause any more problems than you normally do."

"Yes sir." Shogeki said with a mock salute, causing the older man to roll his eyes.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Shogeki stepped out of the taxi, dragging Toga along with him, trying to keep himself focused on what he was doing. He'd thought he'd be able to get some sleep during the ride here, but Toga was likely to try and stab the cab driver if she got the chance, so that plan had been thrown out almost immediately. At this point it was 8 o'clock, and he'd been forced to deal with the few classmates he had that were early risers, meaning that he's in a pretty shit mood by now. Thankfully, Chikara is a zombie before she starts her morning workout and Konchu is more worried about Doro not eating her worms. As he walks down the path to his father's house, he's trying to mentally prepare himself for having to deal with his father. Speaking of which.

"Alright Toga, I'm only gonna say this once. My dad is starting to get old, and his job isn't exactly an easy one. So if there's one thing I want you to do, it's to not give him a hard time, alright? Just don't be crazy for just one day, please?"

The girl just scoffed at him, skipping ahead of him. "I was already planning on being on my best behavior, Aki-chan. How can I make a good first impression if I'm not polite?" She said, which caught him by surprise. Maybe this would be easier than he'd- "Besides, if he doesn't like me, he might not want to help us with our wedding!"

'And there it is.' He thought with a scowl, not bothering to argue about the wedding thing. They walked up the porch and walked in without knocking. Shogeki rationalized that his old man wanted his help, so he'd put up with his bullshit whether he liked it or not. He cuffed Toga to the railing on the stairs and made a beeline for the kitchen. After a few hours, his caffeine high was over, and he was starting to crash hard. He set up a pot of coffee, looking at his father's decaf coffee mix with disgust before he pushed it to the side so he could grab the normal mix behind it. Setting it to brew, he leaned against the counter and called out, "POPS! Get your ass down here, we've got shit to do!"

He heard the floorboards upstairs creaking for a second, before a loud, "Watch how you talk to me, boy!" answered his call. He's not good with stairs, so it'll take him a few minutes to make his way down here. Shogeki decided to put on a kettle, figuring his dad would want some tea to start his day.

"Hi Shogeki-san! I'm Himiko!"

"Ah shit." He swore and, dropped what he was doing, sprinting out of the kitchen, trying to get to the stairs before-

"Who the hell are you, get out of my house!" Shogeki Akihiro yelled at the girl in front of him, "I never said you could come in here, so what gives you the right to barge into my house?"

"Aki-chan brought me here, sir!"

"The hell is an Aki-chan?"

"It's me you old bastard, now get down here, we have shit to do!" Akira got between them, hoping that his dad wouldn't shock the girl. He's had to electrocute this girl more times than he'd have liked this past week, so anything his father did would be pushing the envelope.

"Oh, Akira, it's about time you showed up, boy, where have you been?" The hero-in-training sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Pops, you're 45, not 80. Wait a few more years and then you can try to pull that shit with me." This wasn't the first time he's tried this shit, and to this day, Totsu is the only one who laughed at it. But of course, a soft giggle from beside him proved him wrong, and he turned to see a blushing Toga, hand over her mouth, laughing at his father's shitty, shitty joke.

"Ha! You see, boy, I told you that joke was gold." His father laughed, moving past him and into the kitchen. The older man clapped the girl on the shoulder, saying, "I like this one." From the corner of his eye, he saw the sly smile Toga was wearing, taking a seat on the steps while she waited.

'Oh, she's good at this.' He thought, following his father into the kitchen. The water he'd put to boil had finished, and his father started making himself some tea, shouting out to Toga if she'd like some.

"How's the station been holding up?" Akira asked his father, grabbing a few coffee mugs for them to use. Since both him and his father were more conservative in their belongings when it came to things like cutlery and the like, he was forced to use one of his mother's old coffee mugs for Toga. Although in perfect condition, he felt the need to quickly rinse it out to get rid of all the dust it had collected over the years.

"The firehouse has seen better days, but they've also seen much worse. Dolton's picking up my shift for today so that I can be here for the yard sale, so I want you to do something nice for him as thanks."

"Well alright, let's ignore the fact that I was already planning to pay him back. Tell me why I have to help someone for doing you a favor?"

Akihiro looked at his son with a straight face, the edges of his mouth fighting a smile and said, "Because I'm your father, and you love me very much, and want to make my life eas-."

"You can't even say that without laughing, don't start with me." He rolled his eyes as his father laughed, bringing the tea and some cookies he'd put on a tray and taking them out into the parlor. Akira followed suit, grabbing Toga along the way. He set her down on the sofa across from Akihiro, removed her cuffs, and grabbed his father's arm, channeling a few hundred volts into the older man.

"The hell d-"

"If she moves from that chair, zap her and call for me. She's the villain I was telling you about. I'm gonna go check what you're selling and grab the tables from the attic, just keep an eye on her and don't let her move." He sent a look towards the blonde and made his way up the stairs, trying to ignore the laughing he heard behind him.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hi, uh, I'd like to buy this garden hose… Uh, sir?" Akira's head shot up from where he'd been cradling it in his hands, blinking at the woman in front of him.

"Yes, yes, you- Yeah, garden hose, a thousand yen, that's, yeah." He was so fucking tired. If he knew it wouldn't kill his father's electric bill, he'd just charge himself to max and run off of that, but that would fuck up his body harder than he'd like to admit. He really wasn't in the mood for organ failure today. Besides, he's already on his fourth pot of coffee today, so he was running on fumes at this point, and he still had another 2 hours to go.

The woman gave him a concerned look and handed over the money, but then looked over his shoulder. "Is she okay?"

"Hmm?" He looked over his shoulder to where Toga had been cuffed to one of the support pillars on his father's porch. She was rocking side to side as she hummed a song to herself, but other than that she seemed fine. He looked back to the woman, "What's wrong with her?"

"Why is she tied up?"

"I'm a hero student, she's my long-term assignment. She's a member of that officially licensed rescue company or whatever, pretending to be a villain. Really convincing ain't she?" Totsu would be so proud of his ability to lie under pressure right about now.

"Oh well that makes sense I guess." The woman replied, causing Akira to give a soft sigh of relief. "But what is she holding?"

"Wha?" He turned back to Toga, blinking his eyes when he realized his sight was a bit blurry. Once his vision cleared a bit, he noticed that Toga had her face buried in- "Is that my fucking underwear?!" He ran over to her, yanking the cloth out of her hands, causing her to whine and try to grab them back. "What the hell is wrong with you? Where did you even get this?"

"Well, I took them off of you when you were making more coffee earlier." She answered innocently.

"You what?!" He stretched out his pants a bit and looked do- Yep, he wasn't wearing underwear anymore. The pair he was holding in his hands were in perfect condition, no cuts or tears anywhere on them, meaning she couldn't have forced them off of him. He looked back at the girl with wide eyes, "How the hell did you do that?"

"A woman must never reveal her secrets, baby, especially not to the love of her life."

"Knock it off with that shit, we're not in love and we're not getting married, so stop talking about it. Also, stop calling be baby, alright, it's creepy."

"Whatever you say… Daddy." The smug smile she wore only pissed him off even more, and he decided to go back to ignoring her. With nowhere else to put them for the time being, he resigned himself to giving his underwear back to Toga, who accepted it like a child being given candy. He made his way back to the table, seeing that the woman had simply left the money and taken her leave, something Akira wished desperately he was allowed to do himself.

"Just two hours, just two more hours and it's over." He mumbled to himself, going back to cradling his head in his hands.

"Two more hours until what?" Hamada asked.

"Two mor-" His head shot up, staring at the water girl with bloodshot eyes.

"Hi Shogeki-kun!" She waved, a smile on her face. Ishi stood next to the girl, looking slightly afraid of his sleep deprived classmate. That made sense, not only did Shogeki have 7 inches and 30 pounds on the guy, but he looked tired and pissed.

"What the fuck are you doing here, I came here to get away from you assholes!" He quickly turned to Ishi and added, "Not you Ishi, you haven't really pissed me off yet, you get a pass." The smaller boy relaxed a bit, but tensed back up when Akira started yelling again. "Hamada! Go home! Take Ishi with you, I have enough to deal with today. Oh god, please tell me Totsu's not here."

"No, Totsu-kun's still at school. I just came here to see if you have a flat iron for my hair."

"A fl- A flat iron?" Akira looked at her with death in his eyes. A quick glance at Ishi told him that the other boy didn't know about the reason for the trip, so he'll give him another pass.

"Yeah, my hair has started getting really curly lately, and I wanted to straighten it out before it got too bad."

Akira looked at Ishi, "Get her the fuck out of here, boy, I'm not dealing with this today."

"Yes sir, sorry sir!" The nervous boy grabbed Hamada by her sweater and started to pull, meaning the girl would have to follow him unless she wanted to expose herself.

Akira glanced over his shoulder, making sure that Toga was still where she should be, before he put his head in his hands again, wishing for his day to end.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

'Oh fucking hell, I think I wished a bit too hard.' His body felt heavier than normal, and it was hard to move, but whatever the hell he was laying on, it was soft. Something was touching him, and he heard a soft voice, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Opening his eyes with a groan, he saw two moons, both a bright yellow, and the voice became clearer.

"Sleep, little pigeon,

And fold your wings,

Little blue pigeon

With velvet eyes;

Sleep to the singing

Of mother-bird swinging

Swinging the nest

Where her little one lies."

Singing? Who would be singing to him? It certainly wasn't Hamada, he's heard her singing and it's terrible. Even he could sing better than Hamada, and he could only sing show tunes. His eyes were open, but everything was so blurry. He must have crashed after getting back to the dorms. He'd been awake for so long, he needed to remember to buy Diariseki more energy drinks. He had more that he still had to do today.

"Away out yonder

I see a star,

Silvery star

With a tinkling song;

To the soft dew falling

I hear it calling

Calling and tinkling

The night along."

The song is soft and quiet, barely above a whisper, so nice and peaceful. He gave up trying to identify the singer. He figured he was in his bed, although his pillows felt different. He closed his eyes again, letting the lullaby wash over him, as the mystery singer ran their fingers through his hair. It was getting really long, he should probably cut it, but then he wouldn't have enough to make the quirk-compatible fabric he needs for his costume. Keeping hair in a plastic bag was gross, and he hated doing it, so he just grew it out and wore it long until he needed it.

"In through the window

A moonbeam comes,

Little gold moonbeam

With misty wings;

All silently creeping,

It asks; 'Is he sleeping

Sleeping and dreaming

While mother sings?'..."

It was Toga, that's who was singing to him. It had to be, who else would be crazy enough? Ever since their first training camp, everyone in his class knows not to bother him when he sleeps. They had played cards until late, keeping him awake until he punched them into unconsciousness. They didn't sleep well, but he had, and they all trained until their bodies' screamed.

"But sleep, little pigeon,

And fold your wings,

Little blue pigeon

With mournful eyes;

Am I not singing? -

See, I am swinging -

Swinging the nest

Where my darling lies."

He was so tired. He works too much, too hard. His dad works less than him, and so do a few of Miruko's sidekicks. But he just wants to do his job. Someone has to, so he will, so that no one else has to worry. He'll just sleep for a few minutes more. It won't hurt anyone right? Just a few minutes.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

2-A Student Spotlight

Ishi Takumi- Male

Birthday- 1-01

Quirk- Sight-Based Immobilization

Hero Name- The Red Light Hero: District

Heroic Rank 15

Academic Rank 7

Ishi is around 5'5 will long black hair that covers his right eye. His eyes are red, and he'll normally have bags under them from lack of sleep and stress. Is rather nervous, and can get overwhelmed by too much noise. Will normally try to huddle down and make himself smaller when in groups.


	4. Rude Awakenings and Therapy Visits

Despite the fact that he didn't remember when he fell asleep, Shogeki doesn't remember the last time he felt so well rested. Hell, he even woke up earlier than usual, and he still felt great. He got out of bed, taking note that Toga was still asleep with a smile on her face, grabbed some clothes and put on a pair of pants and head towards the showers. Monday mornings are when Totsu heads to the gym, and most of the other guys should still be asleep, meaning he's the on-

"Yo dude, what's up?"

"Damnit." Shogeki sighed, walking into the shower room. Totsu had shampoo in his hair, his eyes closed while he scrubbed, but the invincible student knew Shogeki's schedule well enough to make a pretty good guess. Despite his good mood, he really didn't feel like talking to anyone right now. Mondays are one of the few days he actually has to go to class, and he still has to take Toga to her first therapy session later today. This would be the only chance he'd get to relax until classes started in a few hours. At least he'd get the chance to wash himself, his hair was a bit frizzier than he'd care for, and Netto had found him a new brand of conditioner that he'd been wanting to try out.

He stripped out of his pants and underwear and stepped under the hot water, trying to ignore his classmate as he was asked question after question. He closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against the cold tile of the shower wall. He took a death breath, filling his lungs with the hot, humid air, trying to cling on to the last shreds of his good mood.

"Shogeki."

'Just ignore him, he'll lose interest in a minute,' He thought, feeling what was left of his good mood beginning to leave him.

"Shogeki. Shogeki. Akira. Shogeki. Jockey. Shogeki!"

"Can't I have 5 fucking minutes of peace without someone calling my name?!" Shogeki yelled, turning his now angry gaze to Totsu, the other boy being much closer than before with his hand up in the air.

"Dude, what's your problem? I'm just trying to give you some props. You go and get lucky, and you don't even tell your best friend? That's fucked up, man." The wide smile on the green haired student's face stood in stark contrast to the more annoyed look he was receiving.

"Oh please, if I had 'gotten lucky' I wouldn't be here, I'd be hanging at their place away from you morons."

"Shogeki, dude, come on, I'm dumb but I'm not stupid. I know hickeys when I see them."

"The hell are you on about?" Shogeki looked down at his chest and froze, making a very uncharacteristic yelp of surprise. Dozens of purplish bruises were scattered across his chest, and even more covered his arms. The only person with hands that small was Chisana, and the pixie-like boy didn't possess anywhere near the strength that was needed to leave bruises like this on Shogeki, so that means these marks had to be hickeys.

"TOGA!" Shogeki yelled out, scrubbing at his body with a bar of soap and growling loudly.

"Toga!" Totsu's playful smile was now long gone, a worried look on his face. "Dude, I know I made a lot of jokes about her being your girlfriend and all that, but you're not supposed to actually sleep with her!"

"Don't you think I know that!" Shogeki's incredibly long hair was getting on his nerves, falling in his face and getting tangled in his many copper piercings. He had enough on his plate already, he didn't feel like pulling hair out of his lip rings and eyebrow studs. He never should have let Hamada rope him into getting these damn things, but he had to admit they did help with controlling his external flow of electricity, so he put up with them despite the looks he'd get on the street.

Although her insistence on him getting one on his right nipple was probably her trying to see how far she could push it.

"Fuck!" He gave up, washing off the suds covering his body and throwing the bar of soap across the room. "I have to take that bitch to her appointment later, I don't have time for this!"

"What are you gonna do?"

"Keep ignoring her like I have been!"

"Oh yeah, because that's been working out so well for you!" Totsu countered, proving that this was going to be one of the rare times he was right about something. Shogeki growled, turning the water off and grabbing his clothes. He'll worry about his hair tomorrow, as much as it was going to annoy him. He made sure that he was on the far side of the room before he activated his quirk, using the heat from his electricity to quickly dry himself. He dressed, leaving the showers and slamming the door behind him. He muttered a string of curses as he stomped down the hall, making his way into the common room. By now, mostly everyone should be awake, and he saw that Chisana was already in the kitchen, probably getting breakfast started. The diminutive pixie boy fluttered around the kitchen, his usual clean freak habits fighting against him, leading to progress on actually cooking anything being slow going.

"Chisana, I need you to-"

"Shogeki-kun, what happened to you?!" The shrillish, chittering voice of an angry Chisana pierced ears and only annoyed him further. "You're covered in- Are those love bites?! They're all over your neck! Shogeki-kun, you know the rules we've agreed to as a class, and you aren't supposed to engage in these types of activities!"

"Alright, I get that, but I hav-"

"Not to mention the noise! What if Aka had heard you? You know his hearing is better than normal, and he has enough problems to deal with, we don't want to add being tired onto that list. Not to mention that Ainsley's quirk requires a lot of focus to use properly, so he needs a full night's sleep to participate in class tomorrow!" The 2-A Class President began to fly in a tight circle, slowly building himself up to a nervous breakdown.

"Chisana, ju-"

"And if Sakana sees this, she'll get way too excited and start bouncing around the room again! We've just finished patching up the holes from last time, and we don't have any more funds for drywa-"

Shogeki grabbed Chisana's arm, his fist enveloping the pixie's limb from the tips of his fingers up to his shoulder. "Shut the hell up and let me answer your questions damnit!" He yelled, starting to get fed up with the class healer. "Look, I have a lot that I need to prepare myself for today. I have to take Toga to a fuckin therapist of all things, and I can only see that going poorly. Just heal me up so I won't get any looks while I'm hanging out in the waiting room, and I'll owe you a favor."

"What use could I possibly have for you?" Chisana trilled, tilting his head. Without proper eyebrows, he had to rely on body language more than some, so this was essentially his version of raising an eyebrow.

"Next time you want to lobby for a stupid new rule, I'll have convince Hamada, Kikai and Totsu to back you up on it." Shogeki offered.

"Why don't you back me up on it? I get that the representative would have more reason to suggest something if there are more people behind him, but you know that as the number one in our year, you'd hold more clout than them."

"Because the staff know me, and they know my bullshit, and nothing would be more suspicious than if I took a sudden interest in all of those rules I always break."

"Huh… I guess you're right." The class representative thought it over for a second, before sighing. "Alright, take your shirt off, I'll heal you up."

"Thank you, christ." He sat on the sofa, letting Chisana's now glowing hands to run along his body, the healing hero causing the bruises and bites littered across his body to fade away, leaving him good as new. "That's much better, now to go wake up the bitch."

"Shogeki-kun, be polite, she's still just as human as you and I, she deserves the same respect you give to the rest of our class." The pixie chastised him, following him to the hallway.

"I'm starting to think that you're overestimating just how much respect I have for our classmates." He walked away from his class rep, heading back to his room to grab Toga, who was still asleep in her bed. He walked over and grabbed the blankets, yanking them off of the-

Naked girl underneath.

"God damnit, Toga, what the fuck?!" He looked away, fuming, as the girl behind him groaned cutely as she stretched her limbs.

"Aki-chan, if you wanted to see me all nakey, you could have just asked." She cooed, tiredly moving a more seductive pose.

"Will you just get dressed, you have an appointment to keep later."

"Yes Daddy."

"Ugh!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Let's go, crazy." Shogeki helped his charge out of the taxi, walking her up towards the clinic. He looked up at the sky, noting that they were probably gonna get hit with a pretty bad storm later tonight. They walked through the door and made their way to the receptionist to check in, Toga seemingly more excited than he'd thought she'd be. "Appointment for 4, name Toga."

The receptionist typed a few things into his computer, "Ah yes, I have it right here, are you Nedzu?"

"No, I'm Shogeki."

The man gave him an odd look, "What's your relationship to Toga-san, sir?"

The hero answered before Toga could say anything stupid, "I'm her carer. Nobody cared, so they forced me to."

"Oh… Um… Th- The doctor is waiting for you in room 2, right down that hall." The receptionist pointed to their left, leading Shogeki to pull Toga towards it.

"Now, for the love of god, behave yourself, I don't feel like carrying your unconscious ass back to the dorms."

"Yes Daddy~"

"Jesus Christ, I thought I told you to knock it off with that shit?"

"And if I don't?" She teased, trying to get under his skin.

"I'll have Konchu cover you in worms and beetles for an hour."

"Eew, no, they're so gross!" All of her teasing was thrown aside as she started to squirm, thoughts of being covered in hundreds of bugs filling her mind.

"Then don't cause any problems, will ya?" He opened the door and pushed her in, leaning against the doorframe and keeping an ear out for any loud noises from the doctor's office. He took the time to check his phone, looking for any news about the area Miruko's sending him to patrol later. Fortunately, he couldn't find anything that really stuck out to him, which means he might have an easy night tonight.

Unfortunately, Nedzu called him just as he was clicking another article, causing him to accidentally accept the call.

"Fuck, damnit, god- What do you want?" He swore, holding the phone up to his ear.

"Hello Shogeki-kun. How are you today?" The ever-chipper voice of his principal came through the line, making the student sigh tiredly.

"It's fine, same shit always, what do you need?"

"I was just calling to make sure you're accompanying Toga-san to her appointment today. It's very important that we get to the root of her psychosis if we want to ensure her mental health is properly cared for."

"Why would you call me now instead of, like, an hour ago? If you had called now and we'd forgotten, we'd still miss the appointment. So either that's a fuckin' lie, or your clock is running slow."

"Ah, well met, Shogeki-kun! I actually called because I wanted to ask how you would assess Toga-san's recovery. After all, you've spent the most time with her by far, so you'd be the first to notice any changes in her demeanour."

Shogeki ran a hand over his face, massaging his eyes, "Better, overall at least. She's stopped trying to kill everyone and is only ever trying to kill me, though I don't know if I'd consider that an improvement or not."

"And have you been able to keep her away from any blood?"

"To my knowledge, yes, though Hone is negligent when it comes to his own injuries, I wouldn't be surprised if he got his arm torn off and didn't notice. Which, according to what little Miruko has been willing to tell me about the incident, Toga has somehow gained the ability to use the quirk of whoever she's turned into, meaning getting Hone's blood would be a pretty significant problem."

"I'm sure you and your classmates would be able to handle anything short of her getting her hands on your own quirk."

"You underestimate some of my classmates, more than a few of them are direct counters to myself. Whatever. Do you need anything else, or can I go back to doing nothing while I wait?"

"No no, that should be all for now, enjoy the rest of your evening, Shogeki-kun."

"Sure, you too, sir." He hung up, a heavy sign escaping his lips as he slid down the wall to sit on the floor. At this point, there was nothing else he could do until Toga was finished, so he just started browsing sign stores looking at what neon signs they were selling until the door beside him opened. He stood up, stretching his legs a bit to help loosen them up. He glanced towards the psychiatrist, "How'd it go?"

"Well, this was just the first meeting, it was mostly just introducing ourselves and trying to identify a goal she was willing to work towards." The doctor seemed nice enough, so Shogeki was trying to not give him any shit just yet.

"Alright, what goals were that?"

"Well, she asked to keep those just between the two of us for now, sir."

Maybe Shogeki would have to give him some shit after all. "I need to make sure you remember that I'm under orders to make sure this crazy bitch is under control at all times." He got a bit closer to the doctor, "I need to make sure she's not trying to plan anything, and the less I know, the more danger you might find yourself in."

"Well, yes, that's… Always a risk, especially with high-risk patients, but, I place a lot of value on doctor patient confidentiality, and- eek!" The doctor winced a bit when a stray bolt of lightning arced across Shogeki's face, but he held strong, "I couldn't in good faith distribute my patient's information to a third party."

"Mother-" He growled, staring the man down. He'd have to give the doctor props for sticking to his guns, he guessed. "My boss will be giving you a call, discuss it with him, I don't have the time or patience to deal with you."

The doctor cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably. "Well, Toga-san, I hope you'll be able to help her focus on her recovery at home." He held out his hand towards Shogeki, who raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not Toga, she's Toga, my name is Shogeki."

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you not her husband?"

"She doe- She's not married, damnit!" He turned towards Toga, "Just how many lies did you tell him?" All he got in response was a sly giggle from the blonde girl. "Whatever, let's get going."

Before they could walk away, the psychiatrist grabbed Shogeki's sleeve, pulling him close to whisper to him, "Are you aware that she refers to you as 'Daddy'?"

"Look, it's a work in progress, alright, I'm tryin' my best." He pulled away, following Toga back into the lobby while trying to push down his embarrassment. She was giggling, meaning she'd probably heard the question and was feeling all smug about it. Shogeki could only growl with annoyance.

"Damn, it's really coming down ain't it?" He glanced out the windows of the clinic, seeing the rain batter against the windows, shaking them in their frames. The thunderstorm he'd predicted earlier was now in full swing, with trees blowing and puddles forming large enough to be considered lakes. "Alright, let's go."

Toga blanched, giving him a wide eyed look. "Wait, but the taxi's not here yet."

"I couldn't afford another taxi, I don't get paid until tomorrow. Miruko decided that I took a drug deal a bit too seriously and beat someone's ass a bit too hard when I busted them. Withheld my pay for the last few weeks, fuckin' asshole."

"Then how are we getting home?"

"We're walking."

"What?" She asked plainly, looking out the window. She glanced between her "boyfriend" and the weather outside a few times, a shocked look on her face. "We're gonna walk in that?!"

"Well, we're not gonna fly, I can't safely carry someone in this kind of weather. Now come on, I have dinner duty tonight, and I have to work with Hamada, the lemming. Despite being made of water, I have no idea how she doesn't know how to boil it."

"But I don't have a coat." She argued.

"I do, now let's go, I have shit to do. It should be an hour walk or something like that." He grabbed her hand and dragged her out and into the storm, a bright flash of lightning lighting up the darkened sky.

"Aki-chan! It's too cold!" Her cardigan was soaked through in a matter of seconds, weighing her down like a pile of soggy wool. She looked up at him, trying to give him a sad puppy look, but he'd seen that shit on Hamada way too many times. The pity well dried up a long time ago.

"Maybe you should have grabbed your duffel coat when we left."

"It was really nice out today, I didn't think I'd need it."

"Toga, it's fucking winter. Why would you ever assume it'd be nice out?"

"I told you to call me Himi-chan!" She stomped her foot in a puddle, splashing water everywhere and only further ruining her leggings and skirt.

"And I told you to stop calling me 'Daddy' to other people, yet here we are."

"So you want me to only call you Daddy when we're alone?"

"Yes. NO! God damnit! Stop calling me that all together!"

"But Daddy~"

He tried to ignore the small twinge of something he felt when she said that and only growled in frustration, trying to resist the urge to strangle her. 'Crazy bitch would only like it, wouldn't help me at all.' He looked back at her, now absolutely drenched with rainwater, her clothes essentially ruined, meaning he'd have to get her replacements later in the week. Meaning he'd have to take her out while he's in costume to assure the police that it's a hero matter. And he'd have to take Hamada with him, because fuck shopping for women's clothes. And Rifuto, because Hamada can't be trusted to not buy something totally asinine.

And when they find out how her clothes got ruined, he'll never hear the end of it.

…

"God damnit." Shogeki cursed, shucking off his jacket and holding it out to her. "My phone is in the right pocket, don't pull it out if it goes off, I don't want it getting wet. I have leather gloves in the inner left pocket for your hands if their cold, just don't fuck up this jacket, my dad will do everything in his power to kick my ass if it gets ruined."

Toga quickly took the jacket from him, wrapping it around her cold and shivering form. She buttoned it up, snuggling inside and taking a deep breath, inhaling his scent. She blushed brightly, humming happily as he pulled the hood over her head, making sure her hair was covered. She grabbed his hand, happy to allow him to lead her down the road towards the school. He sighed, suppressing a shiver as he felt the cold rain beginning to make his clothes stick to his body. In hindsight, he guessed it was a good thing that he didn't get to properly wash his hair this morning, since the rain would have ruined anything decent he'd have done with it. He felt her lean up against him, attaching herself to his arm, which he'd normally be against, but he figured that this was his punishment for being such a dick to her all day, so he'll let it slide just this once. He sighed again, pushing his hair out of his face as the wind started picking up again, wanting nothing but to get back to the dorms for once.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Chisana was waiting for them when they got back. "Shogeki-kun, you're soaked through! You can't be walking around like that, you'll get sick! Even if you don't have classes on Tuesdays, you still have your internships, and you can't allow yourself to get sick, you'll be removing a valued member of Mir-"

"Jesus Christ, can I get through the fucking door, Chisana, fuck!" He was cold and wet and thoroughly miserable, and for once his clothes had absorbed more water than Hamada's, he just wanted a change of clothes. He saw Kikai sitting on the floor by the couches and called out to them. "Kikai, watch this one for me, I need a shower and a change of clothes. Maybe I can finally do my hair."

The robotic student nodded, giving a curious tilt of their head when they noticed the coat the girl was wearing, but resigned themselves to watching Toga. He led them up to Shogeki's room, where he let them inside for the change of clothes. Kikai stood with Toga in the room while Shogeki got himself cleaned, and 30 minutes later, they were back downstairs and in the kitchen, where the three of them watched Hamada almost have a panic attack. Despite all the odds, she had somehow managed to get the large pot of water to boil. As it stood, however, she was now trembling as she held a box of pasta, the scene in front of him causing a vein in his neck to start throbbing painfully.

"Girl, are you fucking serious right now? It's pasta! It's not hard, it's like cooking level 1!" Shogeki yelled at the water girl, who looked like she'd just fought a war against the pots and pans in the kitchen.

"I'm sorry!" She yelled back, "You were supposed to be back 45 minutes ago, and Hone and Chikara need to eat regularly for their quirks to work right, and Ishi was getting nervous because he thought Hone would start getting angry, and you weren't around to help me calm him down and Konchu was yelling at Doro for trying to eat her bugs again and Chisana was freaking out about all the mud and-"

"SHUT UP!" Shoegeki cut off her hysterical rambling, leaving her trying to hold back tears, all while Toga stood by Kikai, seemingly amused at the argument in front of her. "Get out of the kitchen and get me Netto, he's the only one of you fucks I can cook with, go!" She ran out of the kitchen, hurrying to get Netto, if only to make sure he wouldn't yell at her again.

Shogeki dumped the box of pasta into the pot, opening a drawer to pull out a large wooden spoon. "Kikai, go away, go, I can watch blondie and cook freakin' pasta at the same time." He said, pulling out a box of salt and pouring a bit into the water. He gestured for Toga to come over, assigning her the task of stirring the pasta as it cooked while he got out the rice they would be using as a base. After a few minutes of waiting, Netto arrived, tall and fabulous as he always was. Netto quickly set about performing his share of the work, his long, glossy locks of black hair stretching away from his head and opening a variety of cabinets, collecting the array of ingredients they'd be using. Once finished, Netto turned away and got to work, keeping his mouth shut and allowing Shogeki some silence for once. Toga briefly opened her mouth, probably to be creepy or to hit on him again, both were equally likely, but he shoved a tea bag into her mouth and she seemed to finally get that he wasn't in the mood for conversation.

Soon enough, dinner had come and gone, most of the class heading back to the common room to relax, while a select few head to their rooms to study or sleep. At this point, the only ones left in the kitchen were Shogeki, Hamada, Toga, Netto, Ishi and Hone, talking amongst themselves. Although, to be fair, Shogeki and Hone were too busy glaring at each other from opposite sides of the kitchen. The others tried to ignore the obvious animosity between the two, instead focused on making plans to take Toga shopping for new clothes.

"I love the cardigan look, so we're definitely gonna keep that, but I'm thinking we go with navy instead of cream this time around, y'know, have some contrast between your clothes and your hair. Plus, darker clothes would really make your eyes pop." Hamada was in full fashion mode, listing off suggestions while Netto stood to the side with a small notepad, using his hair as a measuring tape while he listed off Toga's measurements. "And I really think the ribbon brings it all together, but I don't know if the red will look right, maybe a yellow to help it go with your eyes? The darker colors mean people who see you will be drawn to the lighter colors, so having a ribbon that matches your eyes will totally bring the whole look together, right Shogeki-kun?"

"I don't care Hamada." He didn't take his eyes off of Hone when he spoke, "Besides, I'm not involved in this, this is you and Netto, leave me be."

"What?" Hamada looked at him like he was crazy, "Of course you're involved, you're the one who's gonna be paying for all of her clothes."

"Like hell I am! I'm not buying her shit outside of the necessities."

Hone stifled a laugh, "What, can't afford to buy nothing for your girl, Shogeki?"

"Like you can talk, not even having a girl to speak of." Shogeki shot back, more than a little venom in his voice.

"Oh, yeah, because you can even get a girl without one being given to you."

"Weird how they chose me to give her to, isn't it?"

"You saying they feel worse for you than me?" Hone raised an eyebrow.

"I'm saying they don't trust you to not let this one get away."

Hone kicked off the wall, walking up to Shogeki. The others had stopped talking at this point, watching the two men with worry, or in Toga's case, rapt attention.

"Hamada, take Toga up to your room." Shogeki could feel a few bolts of electricity starting to arc between his copper jewelry, which made Ishi run out of the room in a nervous mess.

"Alright. No fighting guys, we don't want Chisana-kun to get us in trouble again." The water girl replied, taking Toga upstairs, followed by Netto walking out behind them, leaving the two of them alone in the kitchen.

"Still don't know how far your regeneration goes, do you?" Shogeki asked, watching as spikes of sharpened bone pushed through Hone's skin. "I know everything there is to know about my quirk, boy, but you're still figuring your's out."

"I don't have as much time as you, seeing as I still bother going to my classes." The lights in the ceiling started to flicker as Shogeki started to charge himself. Hone looked to where he'd set his phone down, watching the screen go dark as its battery died.

"We've got a mandatory training exercise on Friday. Think they're gonna get between us again?" Shogeki loosened up his control, feeling another bolt arc between his left earring, his eyebrow piercing, and his lip ring.

"Ooh, I can't wait to hand you your ass in front of everyone." Hone closed the distance between the two, an almost feral smile on his face.

"You're gonna have to catch me to do that, and you're far too slow to keep up with m-"

"Hello Shogeki-kun, Hone-kun." The two turned to see Aka standing in the doorway, staring at them blankly. Despite the boy's blindness when not using his quirk, he was by no means stupid, and was probably able to figure out their predicament just by the fact that they were in the same room together. Aka moved past them, pretending not to notice how they backed off of each other as he passed by, heading towards the cupboard in search of the tea. He also pretended not to notice when Hone nudged the box of tea slightly to the left so that he'd be able to find it. The top two students in the class were both total assholes, and everyone knew it, but they were both still trying their hardest to be heroes. It's not that they're too proud, but they both believe that, while it's perfectly fine to have weakness, they should never let that weakness show to others. It's the least Aka can do to help with their pride and pretend he doesn't notice them being nice to him. With a quick flash of his quirk, he was able to see the entire dormitory and everyone in it, outlined inside of his head, and he noticed that Shogeki had gotten out the kettle for him, but decided to play along.

"Shogeki-kun, would you mind putting on a kettle for me?" He asked, hearing the water running in the sink.

"Yeah, sure, I was already planning on making some chamomile for Toga. Embarrassing me during her appointment, I'll show her." The last part was mumbled under his breath before he rose his voice again, sarcasm dripping from his every word. "Hey babe, I'm sorry you had to see that, here, I brought you some tea, I wanted to make sure you were comfortable you bitch!"

Hone gave a short, smug huff off to the side, and if Aka had to guess, there was probably a smirk on his face. "Planning to give up on her, pretty boy?"

"Look, I get that Netto and I look pretty similar, but try not to get us mixed up. Netto is the pretty boy, I'm the man who'll drag your skinny anemic ass through power cables like a snake through a drain!" Shogeki slammed the kettle down onto the stove, turning it on and waiting for the water to boil. "And for the record, I'm not allowed to give up on her. If I won't watch her, outside of the group I've put together, the only other un-stabable student in this class is you, and it's less that she can't stab you as it is she can't kill you."

Aka could sense that they were about to start another argument, and decided to keep them on track and talking calmly. "I'm afraid I don't follow? What's the difference between Kikai-chan, Hamada-chan, Totsu-kun and yourself, and Hone-kun?"

"Her problem isn't stabbing, it's blood. Using a knife, she isn't able to make any of us bleed in my group. Hone can be torn apart all day long and lose as much blood as he wants, it just won't kill him. We need to keep her away from blood first and foremost." Shogeki answered with a heavy sigh. "I really need a goddamn vacation. We still doing poker night on Friday?"

Hone nodded, "As long as Diariseki doesn't try to cheat again, I'm down. Chikara coming?"

"Nah, I think she's going on a training trip with her old gym this weekend. I think she said she's leaving as soon as class is over."

"We'll iron out the details later, I'm gonna go for a run." Hone made his way out of the kitchen, patting Aka on the shoulder as he passed.

"Do you have any plans for the rest of the night, Shogeki-kun?" Aka asked, grabbing a few mugs down from the cupboard. He made sure he grabbed the one with the chipped rim, knowing it was Shogeki's favorite mug. Despite her crimes, Aka thought Toga-chan was nice and well behaved lately, so she deserves a treat in the form of drinking from one of "Aki-chan's" mugs. He used his radar to see that Shogeki noticed the mug and was moving to put in back in the cupboard to swap it out.

Aka thought to himself for a moment, deciding to have himself a little bit of fun. "Oh, Shogeki-kun, did I grab the wrong mug? I'm sorry, that was my fault. Here, let me try again, I'm sure I'll grab the right one this time." He purposely grabbed the same mug, making sure that he looked very proud of himself this time. "Here, I'm sure this is your mug, right?"

"… Yes. Thanks Aka." He took the mug with a barely-there sigh, making Toga-chan's tea and walking out of the kitchen. Aka smiled to himself, hoping that Toga-chan's excitement didn't keep Shogeki-kun from getting some well deserved rest before he had to leave for his patrol later.

Oh, who was he kidding, Aka still held a grudge from the time Shogeki beat him in a stealth exercise by hiding inside of a car battery.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

2-A Student Spotlight

Chisana Ryo- Male

Birthday- 11-25

Quirk- Healing Pixie

Hero Name- The Sunshine Hero: Pesky Dust

Heroic Rank 18

Academic Rank 4

A short, insect-like pixie boy, who is only 4 feet tall. Compound, fly-like purple eyes the same size as normal human eyes, powder blue skin, pink insect wings, and short, curly dark blue hair. Very waspish, with short, stick-like limbs. His hair seems to sparkle when in the sunlight. Wears dark green bandages as though they were a dress. Very particular and stern, with a heavy fear of germs and general uncleanliness. The class president, taking his role too seriously, and forcing the teachers to step in to keep him from going overboard. Speaks in a high pitch, annoying voice.


	5. A Very Long Day

Shogeki wasn't a very social person, pretty evident by the fact that the amount of people he'd consider his friends is something he can count on one hand. The part where one of those people was his father only makes his social life more depressing. Either way, he wasn't the one who made friends easily, normally that was Hamada; she'd bring new people around when they'd hang out, and if she felt that they fit with him, she'd keep them around. Otherwise, she'd hang with them on her own time. It was for the best, he didn't take too kindly to people who annoyed him in ways he wasn't used to.

The point is, Rifuto wasn't exactly his friend, so being dragged along to the mall with Hamada and Toga was made more unbearable by her inclusion in the trip. She's not nearly as annoying as, say, Sakana, but she definitely wasn't on his top 10 list of his favorite classmates. Rifuto is…

"Shogeki-san, stop looking so miserable, you're out and about with three beautiful girls, anyone would kill to be in your position."

Smug. Rifuto is smug. The white haired albino girl could find a way to feel superior to anyone if she's only given time, and Shogeki's often terrible attitude was an easy target to take advantage of. If that wasn't bad enough, clothes shopping with women was the worst thing that could ever happen to a man.

"I'll stop being so miserable when this trip takes less than 30 minutes. And, seeing as we're already at minute 23, I somehow doubt that'll be happening."

"Just because you like to dress like a low-effort drag queen doesn't mean that Toga-chan has to as well."

"Wha- I- I wear long sleeve shirts and sweatpants, both in darker colors, how the hell is that in any way considered drag queen-esque?"

"You would ask that, wouldn't you?" Scoffed at him, turning away.

"… Hamada I'm gonna shock her."

"Shogeki-kun, no, behave." The water girl cut in before Rifuto could respond to his threat. "We're here because Toga needs more clothes than the few uniforms she has, and those aren't even for our school."

"Waste of my fuckin Saturday." The man grumbled to himself, "Got a day off for this shit, I was planning to have a me day, listen to some music and sleep but, no, gonna have to play babysitter like always."

"Oh, stop being so grumbly, Aki-chan." Toga, the other bane of his existence, latched onto his arm. Her voice was heady, like she was panting for breath, "You don't want to help me pick out some new underwear?"

"That sounds like an actual nightmare."

"You're starting to sound like Aizawa-sensei, you know that Shogeki-kun?"

"Fuck off, Hamada, not in the mood." He snapped, resisting the urge to tear his hair out. He was wound up tighter than Sakana's arms after fighting Uzamaki a few days ago. Speaking of fighting, Shogeki was still holding it against Ectoplasm for lying about that "Mandatory Training" bullshit. They weren't even training, he was giving them a lecture about "Future training opportunities" or whatever. He couldn't be bothered to pay attention once he realized that his chances of handing Hone his ass had been taken away from him.

"Enough out of you, Shogeki, we're here." Rifuto said, standing in front of a-

"Oh fuck you, I'm not shopping here." They stood in front of a very high end department store, something that Shogeki would have been able to afford going to… If Miruko ever thought to fucking pay him more.

"Oh yes you are, slag. If you felt the need to drag me away from my own duties, then we will shop only where I approve of their quality." She sneered, acting as if her life was far more busy than it really was.

"I can't afford to shop here, you bitch! You're rich as hell, why don't you pay?!"

"Oh, don't worry, I'll be covering the costs for this little outing, you'll be paying me over the next few months until we're even. As well as a little favor in return." She stood in front of the store with her hands on her hips, that smug fucking smile still on her face.

A heavy groan escaped him, pinching the bridge of his nose, but before he could say anything else, his phone started to ring. A quick glance at the screen simply read Blocked Number, meaning it could only have been one person. "Hamada, take Toga and go get started, something tells me I have to take this." They walked into the store, Rifuto spinning round and purposely hitting him in the face with her braids. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he answered the phone with, "I should have known that simply blocking your number wouldn't have gotten rid of you."

"Oh, if it was that easy to get rid of me, I wouldn't have made it this far, Shogeki-kun." Nedzu responded, as happy as could be.

"Can you make this quick, I'm kind of… Actually, no, feel free to take as long as you want, I'm not doing anything right now." He sat down on a bench across from the store, keeping an eye on the girls through the windows.

"Well, I looked into Toga-chan's therapist like you asked me to-"

"I was kinda joking when I told you to do that but okay."

"And I can assure you, Dr. Senken has passed every background check I ran. He can be trusted to continue working with Toga-chan."

"That wasn't really my concern, it was him not sharing any progress he might make with her. How the hell am I supposed to continue helping her in her… Ugh, 'home environment', if I don't know what exactly I should be helping her with?" He caught some movement, and looked up, watching Toga wave wildly at him, trying on a long navy skirt as Hamada and Rifuto argued over something.

"I'll be sure to send him a message about that. I hope that covers about everything, but is there anything else you'd like to ask while I have you?"

"Yeah, Aka actually brought up a good point the other night. What should I do for, like, a reward for good behavior? Believe it or not, other than a few extreme moments, she's been pretty well behaved."

"Hmm… Allow me to think on that, Shogeki-kun. I'll be sure to let you know when I've thought of something for the two of you."

"What, no, don't keep leaving me with her you bastard!" Nedzu ended the call without another word, leaving him to swear loudly into his phone. He looked up, catching sight of the girls again, this time it seemed they were arguing about ribbons. He sighed, deciding not to meet with them in the store. Soon enough, they left the store with a few bags in tow, Rifuto shoving a receipt into his face telling him to "Keep track of his bill", which moved her down to number 19 of his 20 least favorite classmates. He was starting to run out of words to describe her other than just plain annoying.

Shogeki wasn't gonna be dealing with that. "How about you focus on the reason you're here, brat. I don't get paid to take shit from you, so I'm not gonna just take it like those servants I know you have."

"Please, you would have been turned away at the door had you applied to my estate." Rifuto countered, "Nothing but a brute with no real elegance. How you're the top of our class is beyond me."

"I'm at the top because your little boyfriend can't possibly keep up with me. Maybe if he was any less of a fuckin' pansy, he wouldn't be placed 13th!"

"Oh, and how does that second place on our written finals feel, Shogeki?"

Shogeki growled, feeling a vein in his neck starting to throb painfully. He was starting to lose his patience with the prissy girl, who was now giving Sakana a damn good run for her money. At this point, he was seriously considering the price of breaking the law and electrocuting the bitch. Unfortunately, Toga took the chance to latch onto his arm again, humming that same stupid song again, and he wasn't about to fight someone who worked with gravity with only one arm.

He took the chance to take a deep breath, bringing himself back down to reality. He had a session with Togata later, and he was sure that would be just what he'd need to relieve some stress. All he had to do was survive the fucking trip. He let his eyes wander a bit, catching sight of-

"Dairiseki!" The blue-skinned bomber jumped up, almost dropping his bags when he heard Shogeki's call. He looked around, catching sight of the small group and, after a quick look of annoyance in Rifuto's direction, made his way over to them.

"I'll be honest; Not really the group I was expecting to run into today." Dairiseki said, giving a short nod to Toga and Hamada.

"Preaching to the choir on that one. The hell are you doing here, I thought you said something about working with Netto for model practice?" Shogeki had to jostle his arm a bit when he felt Toga starting to gnaw on his sleeve. 'What, was she getting hungry or something? Just fuckin' say something, you stupid girl.' He thought to himself.

"Oh, yeah, he cancelled on me, so. You know. That hurt. I had cancelled my training with Hone, and it didn't feel right to go back after I'd already made other plans, so I decided I'd just start working on those charcoal pieces I was telling you about."

"Alright, well, you're coming with us. Let's go. I'm not gonna be stuck with these assholes any longer than I have to be." He grabbed the scruff of his jacket and started to drag Dairiseki along with them to only mild complaints from the blue student. "Where the hell are we going next, Hamada?"

"Oh, well, we were gonna go check out the school's clothing supplier, try to see if we can't get Toga-chan some UA uniforms. That way, she won't stick out so much." The water girl answered, leading them towards the store. "Besides, Toga's presence at UA is supposed to be a secret, right? We don't want her attracting any extra attention, right?"

"Sometimes you make good points, witch." He just hoped that this entire trip didn't leave him wanting to kill himself. Though the look Rifuto gave him as they entered the store didn't exactly fill him with hope.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Midoriya was having a very weird day.

First, Todoroki was eating ramen this morning, instead of soba, which should already be cause for the apocalypse. Then, he found that Kamanari had woken up early to look over his support gear, and actually taking notes on what he needs to do in order to train himself better. Now, he was getting calls from Togata-senpai to head over to Gym Tango to meet with another student. Togata wouldn't tell him which student, only saying that it would ruin the surprise, but if they had Mirio's backing, the first year figured that they couldn't be all that bad.

When the boy entered the gym, he made his way towards the large boxing ring that took up the left side of the building, where he saw Togata having a boxing match with, who Midoriya assumed, was the other student. Togata, as a testament to his hard work, was only sporting a black eye on his otherwise ecstatic face. The mystery student, however…

Shogeki's body hit the floor of the ring, spitting out a wad of spit and blood as Amajiki rung the bell to end the round. He crawled over to his corner, sitting on the stool Totsu set up for him while Hamada removed his mouthguard and sprayed some water into his mouth, washing out the blood. "How are you feeling man?" Totsu asked him, using a towel to wipe up some sweat.

Shogeki spit out the mouthful of bloody water into the bucket Hamada held out to him. "Well, it feels like I've lost a few teeth, and I'm sure most of my ribs are bruised. So, you know, same as last time." Shogeki groaned out, taking notice of their green spectator. "Get lost, kid, Tango's been reserved. I need to keep going with this jackass." He nodded his head towards Togata, who gave a hearty laugh.

"But Shogeki-kun, I've already won our last three rounds!" The blonde said happily, only serving to annoy the second year.

"We're not done until I say we're done! Round four, NOW!"

"Dude, chill out, I think you might need a br-"

He cut Totsu off, saying, "I had to spend my day clothes shopping with fucking Rifuto of all people, not to mention Tog- That bitch! I have some some shit to get over!"

"Actually, it's a good time you showed up when you did, Midoriya-kun." Togata ignored the raging man across from him, "I was actually hoping to see if you'd want to test yourself against Shogeki-kun here. He's the top of the class for the second year students."

"Oh, really?" Shogeki nodded to the kid, not really in the mood for talking. Totsu popped his mouthguard into his mouth as Tamaki got ready to ring the bell again. It rang out across the mostly empty gym, followed by exactly one grunt, three loud thuds, and the sound of Shogeki's body hitting the mat once again.

"Oh, fuck me, I was so not ready for today…" The electric student groaned, laying on the floor and nursing his bruised and battered pride. At least he was able to get another hit on Togata, this time landing a punch to his shoulder. Not that it did much in the long run.

"Alright Shogeki-kun, I think it's time I let Midoriya-kun have a shot at you." Togata said, to which the beaten man agreed.

"Yeah, sure, fuck it. I could use a break." Shogeki used the ropes to get to his feet, turning to his corner. "Totsu, think you can wrap his hands, get him ready?"

"You sure you won't just die if I walk away?" Shogeki's sigh was enough of an answer for him, so he turned away and went to get Midoriya ready.

Shogeki turned to Togata, leaning back against the ropes. "So, what's so special about this kid?"

"We both had internships with Sir Nighteye before he passed, and I can vouch for his potential." Togata said, the younger student nodding in understanding.

"Makes sense. Either way, not just anyone is crazy enough to want to train with you, especially not in hand-to-hand. Guess I should take him… Half seriously?"

Togata waved away his suggestion. "Oh no, please, don't hold back against him."

"Oh, so you're not making this fair on him, I get it." Shogeki said, standing up. They turned when Midoriya was starting to enter the ring, wearing green shorts and matching boxing gloves. The kid was pretty built, he wasn't gonna lie. "Alright boy, let's get to work."

"Yeah, let's go Shogeki!" Totsu cheered, before he heard the sound of knocking over the dull thuds of fists flying. He went to check the door, finding a smaller brunette girl with big pink cheeks. Oh boy, Shogeki wasn't gonna be happy with any more interruptions. "Uh, hey, sorry, the gym's kinda reserved. Do you, did you need something?"

"Hey, I'm just looking for my- my friend! Yeah, uh, Deku-kun, he said one of the third years called him here. Green hair, kinda looks like a mop. Really nervous, have you seen him?" She asked the dread head, who raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you mean Midoriya? Yeah, he's working it in the ring with Togata and Shogeki."

"… They're what?" Uraraka pushed past the older student, rushing into the gym, where she found her boy- friend! Her friend being beaten into the metaphorical dirt by some guy she's never met, all while Togata-senpai cheers them on from the sidelines. The darker man followed her in, leading her over to Amajiki-senpai and a girl made of water. Uraraka tried to push down her feelings on the whole situation, watching as Midoriya was knocked into a corner by the other man. She finally took notice that Togata-senpai was sporting a black eye and a small bruise on his left shoulder, injuries that she was fairly certain her friend wasn't able to give him in a fair fight.

A solid punch to the face sent Midoriya sprawling to the floor, the bell ringing to tell them both to back off. The black haired student seemed to almost snarl at the bellringer, he was so hostile. Whoever this guy was, Uraraka had a really bad feeling about him, he seemed paranoid about something. Quite frankly, he reminded her of Bakugou at the beginning of the year, he seemed way too aggressive in his movements and the way he stalked around the ring, waiting for Amajiki-senpai to ring the bell again.

Apparently, she wasn't the only one who noticed. "Mirio, maybe we should reign Shogeki-kun in a bit." Amajiki-senpai spoke up, finally giving the the gravity girl a name for this guy.

Unfortunately, Togata waved him off, "Oh, I'm sure Shogeki's just had a bad day. Besides, Midoriya said he was hoping to ramp up his training regimen the other day, and this is right up his alley! Go get him Midoriya! Keep your arms up, protect your face!" After a few minutes, and with an uncertain look, Amajiki rang the bell, essentially unleashing Shogeki back onto the green-haired boy. Everyone watched as he charged at Midoriya, going right back to knocking him around until he was almost as beat up as he was.

The friendly guy who met her at the door tapped her on the shoulder to gain her attention. "Oh, hey, I never introduced myself, I'm Totsu Hayate, and this is Hamada Arisu. We're here with Shogeki, the guy in the ring with your boyfriend."

Her face lit up as she shook her head, "No! N-No, Deku-kun is just a friend! Um, she- I mean, I- Is that guy okay?" She gestured towards the electric hero who was still thrashing Midoriya. "He seems… Troubled."

"Ah, you might be right. I haven't seen Shogeki this worked up in a while, I guess he hated that shopping trip more than I thought. I thought you said he had fun?" Totsu asked, turning to Hamada.

"I said I had fun, Shogeki-kun seemed really upset over something the whole time we were there." The water girl shot back, looking at her phone. "He was arguing with Rifuto-chan the whole time, I'm starting to think they don't like each other."

"Oh, wow, you really invited Rifuto to come along, huh? Yeah, no wonder he's so pissed."

A solid punch to the jaw sent Midoriya crashing to the floor, a panting Shogeki standing over him. He looked over, caught sight of the newcomer, and started growling once again. "Seriously, does your entire class not know how to read?! Tango's been reserved, take a fucking hike!"

"Dude, it's cool, she's with Midoriya." Totsu spoke up, although it didn't seem to do much to calm down his friend.

"No, it's not cool, neither of these little shits were invited!"

"But I invited them, Shogeki-kun." Togata added from the sidelines. "I like to think that-

"Nobody asked you, you Tintin looking motherfucker!" He was suddenly launched out of the ring by a blast of water, landing in a wet, sparking puddle on the floor. He picked himself up, shaking the water from his hair like a wet dog. His orange-eyed glare landed on Hamada, who at least had the decency to look afraid of him. She didn't often take it upon herself to get involved when he was worked up, knowing that the chance of him retaliating was rather high.

Case in point, when the lights began to flicker as he stared her down, Totsu fell into his place as peacekeeper, "Dude, come on, go get yourself patched up, I'm sure Togata-senpai can handle this guy."

Angrily, Shogeki got to his feet, slipping on the wet floor and stumbling out of the gym. He trusted his friend to grab his shit, but he just had to get out before he lost it completely. Fuck, where the hell was Doro when he needed her, that dirt-loving bitch. One of the fastest ways to calm himself down was to get encased in a dirt prison and just let his quirk go wild, but without Doro, that plan wasn't really an option. He stomped down the path back to the dorms, damn near twitching in anger as he looked all around him, hoping to catch sight of the puppish brunette.

Reaching the dorms and still with no sight of Doro, he angrily kicked the door in, trudging into the common room and frantically searching for the girl, but finally came to the frustrating conclusion he had known awaited him.

Doro was nowhere to be found.

His fists curled tightly inwards as his breathing hitched. The lightbulbs above him began to flicker as his anger finally reached its peak, a few of the bulbs popping as-

As a large, white gloved fist stretched around the corner to the hallway, rainbow shirt following suit as it rocketed into his face.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Shogeki woke up on the couch, tired and hurting, but significantly calmer. He couldn't figure out how long he'd been unconscious for, but it had to have been long enough for his overly stressed body to begin causing him aches in his lower back. He briefly wondered how he'd gotten onto the couch, but doubt Kikai had moved him off the floor, since there weren't too many people in 2-A that could actually carry him, and Chikara was still out on that camping trip with her gym. He sat up, trying to ignore the pain from boxing with the brick house that was Togata. He also held in his disgust at how parts of his body, most likely the bleeding parts, clung to the sofa and reopened partially healed cuts. The common room was empty, so he called out a loud, "Thanks Sakana!" as he stood up.

"Anytime, good buddy!" A loud, happy-go-lucky voice called back to him from somewhere deeper within the dorms. He had no idea where that weirdo clown was hiding out, but with all of the bullshit she'd pull on a good day, he was gonna get some distance from her before it was too late. Shogeki noticed a few blood stains on the sofa- er, well, some new blood stains, and figured he should probably go get himself washed up.

A short trip downstairs to the laundry room to grab a pair of underwear and a towel from a basket of clean clothes he'd been meaning to out away, and he was on his way to the showers. Shogeki turned the knobs, trying to stretch his neck muscles as he waited for the water to heat up. He hissed when the water sprayed out far hotter than he'd like, and his injuries certainly weren't agreeing with it either, but he knew that he was wound far too tight, and the hot water would help ease the tension he's been feeling all day. 'Seriously, today was a fuckin' shitshow wasn't it?' He figured it made sense; It wasn't often he had any good days, and his worst days were always the ones he planned to make good. He lathered himself up with soap, looking over when the door opened and Tesuto walked in. He sent a nod at the smartest in the class, who responded with a short nod of his own. The water in the shower next to him was turned on and Tesuto went about stripping out of his daywear, grabbing his soap and walking under the water.

"So, how was your shopping trip?" The man asked, squeezing some shampoo into his hand and getting to work on his own blue hair.

"Your girl is a fucking sociopath, and I apparently owe her ¥500,000."

"Ah. Did she go overboard with shopping for Toga-san?"

"Got it in one. Seriously, you need to put a fucking leash on that bitch." Tesuto was in Shogeki's grey area in terms of likeability- He didn't exactly like the guy, but the only thing Tesuto's ever done to him was beat him in every exam they've ever taken. Nothing to really hate him for, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't have a bit of a chip on his shoulder.

"I'll be sure to talk to Kaori, make sure she remembers to reign it in next time. Both her spending and her attitude. I'll cover the bill for you, just pay 10% and I'll call it even."

"Well, that's more than fair." Shogeki turned the water off, drying himself off and putting on a pair of boxers. "Yo, who's got dinner tonight?"

"I believe that it's Osore and Ishi tonight. Expect something with garlic."

"Damnit, I was hoping for meat tonight. Alright, whatever, see you later." He made his way over towards the door, passing the sinks on his way while he unfolded his pants. It wasn't until he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror that he realized how badly he'd gotten it during training. His chest was nothing but dark purple and sickly yellow bruises, and his entire jaw was swollen. He was still bleeding from a few places, but at least he'd taken out his piercings, or else it would have been a hell of a lot worse. Chisana wouldn't be of any help with this, Recovery Girl had taken him to a nearby hospital for more training to get a proper medical license, so he'd be on his own to deal with his injuries. He kept a bottle of painkillers in his room, right? Putting on his pants, he made his way to his room, silently praying that he remembered to replace his last bottle of pills.

He entered the room, channeling electricity through his body just in case Toga tried rushing him, but she was sitting neatly on her bed, drawing away on a piece of paper. That must have been part of the art supplies Dairiseki had given to her to keep her busy during the day. She looked up when he entered the room, eyes going wide when she saw just how fucked up he was, all bruised and…

Bloody…

Fuck.

"Hey! Stay away from me you psycho! Back off!" He held her at arm's length, trying to stop her flailing as she- "Are you fucking drooling?! Come on, I'm not in the mood for this! Back off!" He threw her to the other side of the room, sparking up once more to dissuade her from charging him again. "Stay where you are, alright, let me put a fucking shirt on at least before you try getting all handsy, psycho." He managed to get his hands on a tank top, which is less coverage than he'd like, but he couldn't be bothered anymore. He winced as he put it on, moving over to his bed and grabbing a hairbrush and his piercings. He popped them back into place and started brushing his hair, peeking over Toga's shoulders at what she was drawing.

"Why the hell are you writing up… What are those, wedding invitations? Can you not take a single goddamn hint, lady?" Strewn across her bed were a pile of hand-drawn wedding cards, inviting everyone to the wedding between "Himi-chan and Aki-chan". There were quite a few of them, with a drawing of himself in a tux and Toga in a flowing white wedding gown. "Why the hell is this an eastern wedding?"

"Oh, did you want to have a traditional wedding? I can always redraw the cards."

"Well, my father always told me how expensive it was to have an eastern wedding, and he didn't exactly get a ton of mileage out of his marriage, so I'd always thought it'd be best to- Why am I having this conversation with you?"

She shrugged her shoulders, going back to her drawings, grabbing a new piece of paper and drawing the two of them wearing kimonos this time. He ignored it, choosing instead to sit down on his bed, reaching into his bedside table and pulling out a bottle of painkillers. He swallowed a few and coughed, regretting that he didn't have anything to drink on hand.

"I wouldn't suppose you'd have managed to sneak a bottle of water in here without me knowing, would you?" He sighed as she shook her head, ready to give up and just pass out for an hour. But she kept staring at him, probably getting off on his injuries, if he'd have to guess. She stood up, taking off her new cardigan and leaving herself in just a school button-up and a dark skirt.

"… What are you doing? Don't be getting changed for bed now, we haven't even had dinner-"

"Put on a slow song." She said, interrupting him.

"… What?"

"I wanna dance, put on a slow song." She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

He sighed, running his hands through his hair. "Toga, please, I just want to rest, I'm a bit more fucked up than usual, can we not do this?"

The blonde ignored him, going over to his speaker and turning it on, holding her hand out for his phone. Reluctantly, and with quite a bit of bitterness, he handed it over, letting her cycle through the music he'd downloaded. She giggled a bit, looking at his playlists. "So many old songs, Aki-chan."

"Slower songs calm me down, help me with my anger. Hound Dog recommended it after the sports festival in my first year. It wasn't for the same reasons, but I was acting like that explosion boy when I stood on those pedestals. Damn near gouged Hone's eyes out again." He fucking hated those songs at first, and some of them are still downright terrible, but he wasn't going to argue about results.

"Aww, you don't want to take out your aggression on me, Daddy?" She smiled that same sly smile she always used when she was trying to get what she wanted, but she seemed to quickly drop the subject after a few moments under his death glare. She chose a song and tossed his phone onto her bed, a soft violin beginning to slowly come through the speaker as she stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, waiting for him to join her.

"… You're not gonna drop this until I give you what you want, are you?" She shook her head, causing him to groan. "Fine. One dance, then I take a nap before dinner. That's all you're getting, understand?" He pushed off of his knees, walking over to her as she threw her arms around his shoulders. He had to lean down a bit to make up for the size difference between them, which was hell on his back, but if it got this over faster, he was willing to bite the bullet. He let her take the lead, following the pace she set for their little tryst. She gave a happy little hum and closed her eyes, so he supposed he made the right decision on that one.

Toga leaned her head against his chest, softly nuzzling into him, smiling at the pained little wince he made from his bruises. They swayed side to side, keeping their dance slow, and Shogeki had never been more grateful for her silence. He closed his eyes as well, following her lead and rested his chin on her head, trying to get a little rest. She moved her arms away from his neck, settling them on his lower back instead, getting a bit closer. He hoped the painkillers would kick in soon, because his body was starting to ache quite a bit more than he'd like. He heard Toga take a deep breath, and was suddenly reminded why being this close to her was probably a bad idea. "Memorizing his scent" was probably not something he should be letting her do.

He decided to let it go, slowly taking the lead from her as he set a faster pace. She was almost shaking against his chest, and he found himself taking a deep breath and filling his head with her scent. Someone must have had let slip that he enjoyed pomegranates, and it wouldn't have surprised him if it was Hamada. Some part of him recognized that the song had already ended, and was replaced by a soothing piano number, but he didn't let it bother him too much. His painkillers were finally kicking in, and his pain was slowly fading. He could go for a few more songs.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

2-A Student Spotlight

Rifuto Kaori- Female

Birthday- 12-14

Quirk- Targeted Gravity Increase

Hero Name- Albino Hero: Gravity Rush

Heroic Rank 10

Academic Rank 6

An albino, with pure white skin, pink eyes, and colorless, white hair tied into a french braid. Very spoiled and bratty. Stands at 6'0, and wears expensive jewelry. Usually wears skirts and blouses, with a big red ribbon in her hair. BIG circular glasses. Comes from a wealthy family, and looks down on others. Genuinely enjoys spending time with her boyfriend, Tesuto, and gets jealous when he doesn't pay attention to her.


	6. Dreams

Himiko was in bliss.

She snuggled closer to Aki-chan, hugging him tighter as she inhaled his scent, the smell of burning ozone and lightning. So powerful, so, so fatal. If he so much as sneezed wrong, it could kill her in an instant, and she loved it! He has killed her, letting her stab him, killing herself on his lightning as he forced her back into this land of life and pain. He's hit her and beat her for every attempt she made on his life, keeping her in a place of submission instead of letting her run away like all the others would. He fought back, keeping her hungry, hungry for more of him.

Her desire to marry him wasn't based on nothing, you know.

She felt her large warm pillow shift slightly, leaving her to pout, knowing that her fun was coming to an end. After a few more seconds, her pillow went stiff, then she was suddenly thrown to the floor, kicking her feet as Aki-chan yelled at her about sleeping with him again. He got out of bed, grabbing his clothes and leaving to take a shower. He'd come back in 30 minutes with Arisu-chan, and she'd watch Himiko while she took a shower and got dressed. She liked Ari-chan, even if she couldn't stab the water girl. She was nice, and kept her company when Aki-chan was angry.

Aki-chan was angry a lot, but that's what she was here for! To make his day bright and full of life! Even if he didn't let her be around knives. Or go shopping for cute clothes whenever she wanted. But he listened when she talked about their wedding plans! Or, she thinks he listens, he might be ignoring her, but he doesn't stop her from talking about it!

…

…

She missed Ochaco-chan, and Deku-kun, but she knew that she'd see them soon. Aki-chan and Doctor Senken thought she wasn't listening when they whispered behind her back, but Himiko knows what they're planning. Immersion therapy, bringing Deku-kun and Ochaco-chan straight to her. She hopes they do some training first, all sweaty and bloody, ready for her to meet once again. But the real question still ate at her; did she love them as much as she loved Aki-chan? She hadn't had so many crushes at once before?

Deku-kun was sweet, kind, and caring. He was someone who would hurt as many people as he had to if it also meant saving people. The sight of him breaking into that clearing, all broken and bloody. She had blissful dreams about him for many nights after that.

And Ochaco-chan, she was just as eager for Deku-kun as she was. They were destined to be love rivals after all! But would she ever get what she desired? Himiko could hear things, and she's heard whispers of the two of them spending quite a lot of time together. She wanted to see Ochaco again so badly, wanted to hug the brunette close and bite her neck. Oh, the idea of the two of them, covered in blood as they brought themselves together for Deku-kun, just the thought sent a shiver through her body as she shuddered on the floor.

Then there was Aki-chan. He was…

Aki-chan was a big old meanie! He yelled at people and would shock them if they bothered him, and he acted like an old man sometimes. He was all old fashioned, too, talking about how he's not supposed to let her act this way and that, and not talking about how he feels, and how he listens to all that old music. He tries to tell her his emotions by doing things, but she doesn't want that! She wants him to talk to her about his feelings. He doesn't even know how to dress properly! All he wears is his uniform, his costume, or tank tops with sweatpants. That's not cute at all! He needs more color in his life, and who better to give him color than Himiko herself!

Speaking of, Aki-chan walked back into the room, followed by Hamada-chan. Aki-chan was actually laughing about something, which seemed to be making Hamada-chan nervous. "I really can't believe that harpy thought I would fall for something like that, is she really running that low on jokes?" He said, grabbing Himiko and pulling her to her feet.

"I don't know, Shogeki-kun, Miruko doesn't really seem like the kind of person who likes jokes." Hamada-chan grabbed some clothes for Himiko, leading her out of the room as Aki-chan trailed behind them. The blonde latched onto his arm like always, snuggling into his side as he tried to shake her off before he gave up.

"I have about a hundred texts from that memeing jackass that would prove you wrong on that." He sighed, turning to look down at Himiko, "You're gonna be spending most of today with Kikai, probably, I know that Hamada has something going on with your brother, right?"

Hamada-chan noded, "Yeah, he has a baseball game that he wants me to go to. He lost his last one, wanted me to be there to cheer for him this time."

"Ugh, like that'll make a difference." Himiko was busy trying to smell his hair again when he looked back, standing on her tiptoes to try and reach. "As for me, I have training that I need to do, someone reminded me that I still have problems controlling my quirk when I get wet." He gave a side eye to Hamada, who gave a nervous laugh.

"I hope you have a good day, baby." Himiko told him, and she meant it. He's been so uptight lately, she hoped that some training would help him let off some steam, especially since he was still telling her to stop offering to help him.

Aki-chan snorted, "Yeah, okay. The only thing I have to look forward to today is kicking the shit out of those Trigger dealers I've been tracking. Got a rat come up to me the other day, told me where they had moved some of their operations to."

A rat? That's not very c- Oh! He means a tattletale! That sounds familiar, where has she heard of that before? "Are you gonna kill them?"

"No, god damnit, I don't kill unless civilians are in extreme danger." She guessed he saw how happy that idea made her, so he quickly added, "No, that doesn't mean you can run around attacking people hoping I'll kill you." Himiko pouted, clinging to him as he tried to push her off of him and into the showers. A quick shower later and the trio were heading towards the common room, Himiko skipping happily along. She was giggling along to Aki-chan bullying Hamada like always, teasing the water girl for this and that. Walking into the room, she was blushing as she quietly observed his smiling face, her cheeks growing hotter when he turned to her with a smug, confident smile on his face.

"Hi there, work buddy!" Himiko watched as all of the life left Aki-chan's eyes as Sakana-chan sidled up next to him, face paint as white as her large, blinding smile. The clown girl was dressed in a wide array of clashing colors, from reds to yellows to greens and blues. A rainbow striped shirt with a solid green left sleeve and a solid purple right sleeve, a bright green pair of shorts, yellow suspenders, candy cane leggings and pink combat boots made up not only her usual outfit, but her hero costume as well. If Himiko remembered the girl's words right, "A good clown is ready to put on a show around the clock!"

Aki-chan growled, "God damnit, Sakana, I thought that message was a joke." Hamada-chan saw the minefield she had just walked into, and took the chance to leave the dorms, heading out before Aki-chan could properly explode.

"No jokes here, good buddy, not until we get to our audience for the day. I think Gang Orca wanted us over Chiba today-"

"What?!" Aki-chan interrupted, "That's in the opposite direction of Saitama, why the hell would he want us over there?!"

Mana-chan gave an exaggerated shrug of her shoulders, starting to pull out her phone as she answered with an exaggerated stutter. "I- I dunno, man, the big man said to go to Chiba, I- I gotta do what he-"

"Cut the shit! Do you have any idea how many drug operations have been springing up in Saitama?! Why the hell do you think I haven't been branching out, all the activity is focused there!"

"You don't expect me to argue with a multi-ton killer whale man, do you?"

"I will!" He grabbed the phone from her hand, walking out of the room as he called the rank 11 hero. He threw the door open towards the showers, his loud screaming already getting farther away from the two girls.

Mana-chan placed her gloved hands on her hips. "Boy, I sure hope Groucho takes his time, I still haven't finished with my makeup. Can't have a half-painted clown now can we, Toga-chan?" Mana-chan proclaimed, pinching Himiko's cheeks. The blonde giggled, sitting down on the sofa with the clown girl to help with her makeup. Himiko had always loved clowns, which means Mana-chan had quickly gotten to the top of her favorites list, something that always got Aki-chan all hot and bothered. Or, well, maybe just bothered.

At that moment, Kikai-kun walked in from the side door, the large robot seeming to set off a trap and being showered in confetti. "Wha-Oh, Sakana-baby, why must you always do this?" Their voice filtered through, "Don't you remember the last time you pulled this little prank? My beautiful, well cared for servos and gears were jammed with pieces of paper for days, oh! The agony, the tragedy!"

"Whoopsie, sorry Kikai-kun! It won't happen again, clown's honor!" Sakana snorted, throwing a wink to Himiko.

Kikai-kun posed a few times, their body freshly polished and shining in the light of the overhead lights, before they finally sat down in front of the couch. "Tell me, my painted friend, do you have any idea who's on cooking duty today?"

"Why are you curious? I'm pretty sure scrap metal tastes the same no matter who cooks it." Sakana-chan had moved on from her eyes, and was now painting large green squares on her cheeks.

"Oh, so quick witted, my dear- No, I was asking for Ishi, he's too… Passive, to ask you directly." The door Kikai-kun had come through suddenly clicked shut, telling the girls that Ishi-kun must have been hiding out of sight to hear the answer to his question.

"Aww, poor thing. If you see him later, tell him that I think it's Konchu-chan and Doro-chan."

"I'll tell him to expect fruits and vegetables then."

Aki-chan stormed back into the common room, throwing Sakana-chan her phone. "Yeah, let's send the electric guy and the rubber clown to Chiba, let them handle crimes over by the docks." He ranted to himself, grabbing his bag, an old canvas bag that she'd stuck kitty stickers to- "God damnit, this was my father's bag when he was in the academy you bitch!"- and began making his way out the door. "How the hell did that moron ever make it to rank 11?! A can of fuckin' bug spray could make better decisions than hi- LET'S GO SAKANA!" He screamed, causing the clown to stretch herself out and around the room, quickly gathering her things. Sakana-chan ran out the door, but before he left, Aki-chan poked his head back into the common room. "I'm going to work, try not to kill yourself while I'm gone, god forbid you make me happy."

"Aww, you do love me, Aki-chan!"

"Fuck off and die." He left with that, the door swinging closed behind him, leaving Himiko alone with Kikai-kun. The robot turned to the girl, waving a hand, before pulling out a few books.

"Alright, Toga-san, back to our lessons on morality~!" This was quickly followed by Kikai-kun having to lunge at her in order to stop her from running away.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Dinners with 2-A was an odd affair, between the large assortment of personalities present, the multitude of arguments that were happening all at once, as well as Aki-chan's penchant to avoid the dining room on nights he couldn't handle the sheer amount of noise the class would make. But, to her credit, Himiko was able to enjoy herself when Aki-chan let her have dinner with the class. She was able to follow everyone's conversations fairly easily, and even had some fun by helping Dairiseki-kun throw cherry tomatoes at Chisana, much to the pixies detriment.

Once dinner was over and done with, there wasn't much for Himiko to do other than to wait in the common room with a few members of the class and wait for Aki-chan to get back. After all, she can't get into their room without him. So, she found herself sitting in on a small study session with Hone-kun, Ishi-kun, Kikai-kun, and, surprising everyone, Chikara-chan. The muscular woman was snacking on a bag of jerky that she was sharing with Himiko herself, while a red-faced Ishi nibbled at a piece Chikara had offered him. She liked Chikara-chan, she was so tall her head almost touched the ceiling, and her 8-foot frame forced her to duck under every doorframe she'd come across. She had darker skin that rippled with muscle, and was always too focused on something else to be bothered by Himiko's snuggling. Even now, she was too busy lounging back while staring blankly at a math textbook while the blonde snuggled into her abs.

"Okay, Riko is done, time for weights." The strength quirk user spoke up, throwing her book onto the table and standing up, leaving Himiko laying on the couch significantly colder than she was a few seconds prior.

Hone-kun looked horrified. "Bitch! You're fucking failing this class, what do you mean you're done?"

"Is done. Muscles want to lift weights, is not my call." The amazon looked almost confused.

"Stop with that shit, bitch, You're gonna fail the year if you keep this u-"

"Oh, Toga," Chikara-chan spoke up, cutting off the now raging Hone-kun and causing the blonde girl to look up, very quickly dodging whatever the muscular girl had thrown at her head. "Is pomegranate. Eat fruits and vegetables, too much iron and protein do nothing unless they are balanced with, uh, plant sugars." She left the room after that, grabbing a bowl piled high with various fruits and taking them with her. Himiko didn't think too much on it, since she now had one of her favorite foods in front of her!

"Toga-san, you'll stain the sofa if you- Oh no, Chisana isn't going to be happy." Ishi spoke up, beginning to slowly leave the room as Toga tore into pomegranate like a hungry fox in a chicken coop. The juices dribbled down her face and over her fingers, staining her skin a dark pink as she hummed a song in happiness.

There was a bit of commotion by the doors, making everyone look that way. The door burst open, an excitable Sakana-chan and an equally frustrated Aki-chan stepping into the dorms. The clown girl was poking at the taller man's cheeks, talking a mile a minute. "Ha! After today, I'm positive I've passed Hone-kun for the rank 2 spot in our heroics rankings! That means it's only a matter of t-"

"You're forgetting to factor in the part where I will absolutely kill any member of staff that tries to place me below an actual fucking clown." There was an edge to the threat that a few of them took as some actual truth behind his words.

Sakana-chan blinked, taking a second to start counting off on her fingers. "… Aww! But this means I'll never get you to come see one of my shows!"

"Sakana, you work children's birthday parties, and I am a large scary man who dislikes children when they have sugar. How the hell would either of these things go together?"

"With the power of imagination, my good buddy!"

"I'm sending Miruko a message, I refuse to spend a whole day with you again." Aki-chan immediately pulled out his phone and began typing up what everyone assumed was one hell of a message.

Hone-kun let out a smug laugh, leading Aki-chan to direct his bad mood towards him. "What, did more kids want her autographs than they did your's?" The skinny boy asked.

"No, unfortunately." Aki-chan replied, "I wished they did, they'd have left me alone."

"He's an underground hero who works mostly nights, how are you so popu- You're cheating, aren't you!" Sakana-chan pointed a comically large finger at him, only making him scowl deeper.

"If I'm cheating, I sure wish I'd stop, these kids are annoying as hell." He finally caught sight of Himiko, his big, orange eyes going wide when he saw her. She gave him her widest smile, hoping he- "You bitch! Who gave you one of my pomegranates?!" He tore the fruit from her hands, slapping away her outstretched arms as she tried to take it back.

"Nooooo! That's mine!" She whined, jumping up and trying to steal the fruit back.

"Fuck off you harlot, these are the only fruit I enjoy, I didn't get them for you!" He pushed her back onto the chair, swearing as he looked at the torn, mangled piece of fruit in his hands. She stamped her foot, pouting as she turned to Hone-kun. "Hone-kun, Aki-chan is bullying me!"

"Ha! Hahahaa!" The boy laughed at her, "The hell do you want me to do, send him to his room? He's a big boy, he can do what he wants."

"Not like you'd be able to stop me anyway." Aki-chan said, throwing the, in her opinion, perfectly fine pomegranate into the trash.

"Hey. Asshole. I'm on your side on this, that can always change."

Kikai decided to stop the incoming argument before it could go any further. "Shogeki-kun, while you're here, I should remind you that we have a-"

"Project due on Thursday, you assume I haven't already finished it."

"But- Darling, we were just assigned the project earlier today, how on Earth were you able to learn about the project and finish it already?"

"You assume I don't just steal the lesson plans off of his desk when he is staring at me in the eyes and doesn't stop me."

At this point Hone-kun chimed in, "What? Dude, you can't ju-"

"I don't have time for this, I have a meeting to get to in a few hours, and I have to cram all of the training I was planning to do into an hour. Let's go, crazy." With that, Himiko found herself snuggled up against Aki-chan's arm once again, the taller boy growling at Hone-kun's laughter as they left the common room. He brought her back to their room, pushing her inside and grabbing a change of clothes. He turned back to her as he opened the door, saying, "I'm going to the gym, I want you to stay in here and behave for once. Alright? Kikai has been keeping me updated, and I've heard good things. Keep it up, Nedzu might offer you some more privileges." Aki-chan closed the door behind him, leaving the blonde alone in their room. She heard the magnets click into place, sealing the door closed and isolating her from the rest of the school.

Himiko breathed, an airy laugh slipping past her lips. She waited a few moments, just to be safe, before she laid on the floor and slid underneath her bed, grabbing the small ribbon she had hidden in the corner, stained with the blood of her groom-to-be.

Aki-chan couldn't be cut up by knives or blades, and she's already tried to pierce his skin with her teeth, only to be shocked all the same. But punches and kicks, blunt force trauma could make him bleed. A punch to the jaw could cut his skin from the inside out, his cheekbones harming him in ways she can only dream of. Most of the time, he'll be clean and showered, free of any blood, by the time he comes back to her. But not last night, no, he was bleeding and bruised all over, just for her, and there was still blood leaking from under his jaw. She waited until he fell asleep and cleaned it up, keeping it for herself. She couldn't drink it, not that it would be enough for her to use his quirk anyway. It was too precious, too little for her to savor by drinking it. The sight and smell of his blood would last her far longer.

She pressed the ribbon to her face, the scent of her beloved's blood filling her head and leaving her with a high she'd never get with any kind of drug. Himiko's thoughts were flooded with dreams of doves and roses, white as bone and as red as gore. She dreamt of an aisle of corpses, walking towards an archway of blooms as her beloved waited for her, a smile on his face. He wore a deep black kimono, trimmed with white, and his hair was tied into braids that Hamada-chan must have helped weave. Her own kimono was red, deep red, as red as the cherries that floated through the air like heavy, bloody raindrops. She passed by a small pile of orange goop, squirming on the floor, reaching out to touch her before falling in on itself with a sickeningly arousing squelch. She stepped past it, taking her place besides her Aki-chan.

His kimono seemed worn, far older than she had first thought. It was faded with time, just like the small assortment of dress clothes at he owns. She remembered a story about his grandfather's wedding, and realized that it must have been the very same kimono. She felt her face heat up, her cheeks turning a darker shade of pink. He was taking their wedding much more seriously than she thought he would. Would he stay? She always thought he'd run away from her, like everyone else does. Is he telling her he'd stay with her? She turned towards the official, a skeletal effigy in the vague image of her mother, propped up by cords hung from the archway, dressed as a shrine maiden and ready to begin the ceremony.

The words that came from the husk before them were soft and hollow, barely audible and with no sense to their meaning. They were sweet and filled her body like warm honey, before it began to grow as cold as the dead. The words from the husk grew hollow and muddled, like she was listening from under water. The cherries floating around them began to race to ground and explode, splattering the area with a blood red tinge, the juices staining her hair and leaving her skin feeling sticky and cold. Akira wouldn't like this, he hated it when she was all sticky, so she hoped he wouldn't be too upset.

She reached out and grabbed his hand, her own becoming clammy and cold. Was she shaking? She couldn't tell, she didn't feel cold. Her breathing was shallow, and a sharp pain was throbbing in the center of her chest. No, she didn't feel cold at all, instead she felt hot. Like, really hot. What was happening, was she okay? Himiko shook her head, feeling dizzy, like the words from her mother were making her feel this way. Her mother wanted her to meet a nice boy, she wouldn't want to make her sick on her wedding day.

What did her father say to her? 'Boys will always walk out on you, be careful around them!' Akira wasn't like that, he was all old fashioned, all traditional. Yes, he was. He'd stay with her, he wanted her to get better. He took her to the doctors, and they were gonna get her medicine…

Right?

"Don't leave." Himiko whispered, her plea deafening in the silence of the room, and she herself was too scared to look at her Akira. She could feel her heartbeat in her ears, pounding away like a distant but all-too-close drum. She couldn't bear the sight of him, too scared to see the disgust that must be on his face. She felt his grip tighten as tears began to spill from her eyes. He didn't say anything, as infuriating as always, trying to tell her what he wants to say through actions instead of the words she so desperately wants to hear. But would she listen if he did? Could she bear to hear whatever he may say? She doesn't want to run away if she doesn't have to, so why is her body screaming for her to escape?

She felt him lace his fingers through her's, and she carefully peeked at him from the corner of her eyes. He stared straight ahead, unblinking, looking as calm as always. He didn't seem bothered or worried by anything. Is he scared? She's never seen him scared; does he hide it well? What would he look like, his body wracked in the throes of fear and dread? She doesn't think she wants to see it. Doesn't she?

…

Is this love?

XXXXXXXXXXXX

2-A Student Spotlight

Hone Tatsuya- Male

Birthday- 5-19

Quirk- Bone Manipulation and Regeneration

Hero Name- Bleeding Hero: Bloodtinge

Heroic Rank 3

Academic Rank 9

Grey hair, scruffy and uneven. Has boney horns protruding from his forehead. Face is set in a perpetual scowl, with deep scars across his face and body. Wears tank tops and cargo shorts. Height is 6'2, with red eyes. Is anemic and tends to be deathly pale with sunken cheeks. Doesn't like people, animals, or ghosts. Don't ask about his horns, or he'll punch you. Wears black lipstick. Has a soft spot for Kaisha, and is embarrassed about it.

A/N- Shorter chapter than I'd like this time, I apologize for the wait. I'm still figuring out a way to write Toga that I am comfortable with.


	7. Don't Play with Fire

"Meh, I didn't like part 2."

"Okay, now you're just trying to piss me off." Beta Man replied, "Who the hell doesn't like part 2?"

"I didn't like Joseph, he was too goofy." Fast Track tried to defend himself, "For all of the flaws of part 1, it was a more serious story, Joseph was so immature it made me want to punch him."

"Wait, so you're gonna stand on the 'Fuck Joseph' hill and preach your lies, yet whenever I try to talk shit about Jolyne you try to tear my head off?" Beta Man countered, leading to an exaggerated gasp from the other end of the line .

"Don't you EVER try to talk shit about my precious girl! Jolyne got shafted in what is the most inconsistent part of the entire manga, and I still hold a grudge over it!"

"I have been listening to you two bitch about this manga for the last 2 hours, seriously, shut the fuck up." Shock Jockey spoke up, deciding to stop them before they repeated the same argument for the hundredth time.

"Holy shit! Jockey, you've been listening in? What the fuck, dude?!" Fast Track exclaimed, "Why are you even on comms, you usually only pop in to tell us when you're heading home."

"Because I've been sitting around in the fucking cold for the last few hours waiting for this drug deal to go down, I got bored." Shock Jockey leaned over the edge of the rooftop he was hiding on, peeking into the warehouse nextdoor through a glass panel on the roof. He leaned back and took a seat near a chimney, trying to keep himself warm. It was about a week from Christmas, and Japan had finally had its first snowstorm the other night. So, while all of his classmates were inside enjoying the warming heat of the dorms, Shogeki was stuck on a rooftop in Saitama, a blanket thrown over his shoulders as he tried to keep himself focused for the job ahead.

Speaking of Christmas, he still needed to figure out who he was getting gifts for. Totsu and Hamada were givens, his father would force him to get something for those two anyway, so he might as well bite the bullet. He supposed Kikai had earned some recognition too, and Ishi definitely won Shogeki's "Annoyed Me the Least" award, so he's going on the list as well.

'I guess that just leaves the bitch.' He thought to himself, watching as some trucks pull up to the warehouse. A small group of people got out and began moving some crates into the building, meaning they must be the suppliers he's been hunting down. Now he just has to wait for the buyers to show up, and he'd jump to action. 'Should I even get her anything? Is there anything I could get her that she'd even enjoy? I can't get her knives or my blood, meaning the top 2 choices are in the trash.' This was gonna bother him, he could tell.

About 10 minutes later, and with no more ideas for gifts to get for Toga, the buyers finally showed up. Shrugging off his blanket, he fiddled with his radio for a second. "Officers, you on standby?"

"Standing ready, Shock Jockey. Waiting for your mark." Was the response he received. Clipping the radio onto his belt and draining its battery into his reserves, he stepped off of the roof and flew up and above the warehouse. Taking a deep breath he let himself drop, falling through the window and landing, what would you know, right in the middle of both gangs. Surging his electricity through him, he bathed the area in lightning, dropping all suspects like flies. He brought his radio back up to his face, saying "Alright, I've got more than what was expected, I'm looking at about 30 guys. You might need to call in for a truck."

"Copy that. We'll get dispatch on the line to send us some trucks. Search the warehouse, we're going to need numbers on those shipments."

"I hear you." The hero took a moment to drag the suspects' bodies into a series of lines, using all of the zipties he had on him in the process to restrain as many as he could. Once he had that settled, he did a quick search of the warehouse, making sure he wasn't missing anything. Shock Jockey moved over to the large metal crate, unlocking it's seals with a hiss. "Alright, let's check how much of this stuff you morons were trying to move." He threw the lid back, giving a whistle at the hundreds of packages of Trigger he found inside. He brought the radio back up to his face, "Yeah, I'm looking at a few hundred doses right here, with 3 more crates of the stuff."

"I'm sorry, did you just say you found 4 crates of Trigger in that warehouse?" The officer on the line sounded surprised, which makes sense. This much trigger is enough to turn a group of 50 thugs into a real problem. He started removing some of the packages while holding the radio in the crook of his neck.

"I'm just as surprised as you are, this is a large fortune to be left with a group of- " A stream of white gas sprayed him in the face, make him cough and drop the radio. There must have been some kind of trap inside of the crate, which would spray gas at anyone who tripped it. A gas that was definitely making its way through Shock Jockey's system. The stream of gas died out, leaving him on the ground, trying to stop his violent cough. He could hear a faint beeping coming from inside of the crate, and very quickly released a small pulse of electricity, causing the lights in the warehouse to flicker, Only flicker, instead of shattering the bulbs like he had tried.

'That gas wasn't poison, was it?'

A few meters away, a black something began to appear from nothing, hovering in the air. Trying to control his coughing, Jockey hid behind a shipping crate on the other side of the room grabbing his radio on the way. He quickly forced his breathing back to normal, turning some dials to call in some backup. If the new arrival was who he guessed, Miruko would definitely want to be here. He peeked out from behind cover, luckily the new villain was facing the other way, but it was enough to confirm Jockey's suspicions.

His radio fizzled a bit, before a voice came through, "Kid, your internship was granted on the sole promise that I'd never have to-"

"Fuck you, Dabi is here, come get your payback."

"Well, why didn't you start with that?"

Never let it be said that Miruko wasn't one petty bitch. He put his radio down on the ground, making sure he didn't get it destroyed before his boss could figure out where he was, before he peeked out from behind his cover. Very quickly he had to bolt across the room as the shipping container melted into a white-hot sludge. It seemed that was the only aspect of his quirk he was able to get working, his speed, and even then, it didn't work for long. Maybe less than a second, but it was all he had to work with.

"When the doc told me someone was trying to bust his shipments, I thought he was being paranoid." Another blast of fire ruined yet another shipping container. Seriously, just how hot was that fire supposed to be? Hiding behind a support pillar, Jockey took notice that Dabi seemed to be half dressed, only wearing a pair of pants, as well as what looked like a gas mask. What the hell was he up to before he got warped here?

He looked to his side, towards the now burning, dead bodies of the gangs. He remembered that a few of them had been carrying guns on them and his eyes very quickly landed on the small pile of pistols he'd left. Only thing between them was an asshole fire villain.

A villain who just spotted him again.

'Fuck.'

Another plume of fire and another ruined support pillar, and Jockey was a bit closer to the guns. Unfortunately, Dabi started talking again, which was only distracting him.

"The hell kind of pansy did they send to bust our boys?" Dabi yelled out, shooting more fire towards Jockey's old position, "Who just starts opening crates of drugs? You thought you could snag a few shots for yourself? I don't know just how much of those suppressants you got hit with, but this is pathetic, man!"

Jockey dodged once more, getting himself a bit closer to the guns, but Dabi seemed to have figured out what the hero was after. A flick of his wrist and the guns were reduced to a sludge of molten metal. It seemed the building itself was starting to feel the heat as well, as a large chunk of the ceiling collapse, grabbing the attention of the villain. Jockey saw his chance, he charged forward, trying to get as close as he could to the villain. Just as Dabi released his fire, Jockey used his quirk and bolted to the side, sliding underneath the plume of fire and getting himself close enough to land a solid punch to Dabi's chest. Well, he didn't dodge it entirely.

While Dabi crashed into a nearby shipping container, Jockey was on the floor, clawing at his face and what used to be his left eye. Fuck, that's not something he was gonna be able to just brush aside. He rushed the other man, shoulder tackling him hard enough to leave a body-sized dent into the metal object, Jockey made to grab his arm, but had to back off or else he'd be burnt to crisps. Again, without his quirk he wasn't as fast as he should be, meaning he still caught the edge of the attack, his forearms and hands going numb almost instantly at the damage they've taken.

"Fuck!" Shock Jockey pulled himself to his feet, trying to surge as much electricity into his arms as he could, but he fell to his knees, coughing, his vision beginning to blur as the smoke was starting to affect him. He looked up, expecting to see Dabi bearing down on him, but for whatever reason, the villain seemed distracted.

Dabi looked around the warehouse, "Flashover…" He looked over to Jockey, eyes full of smug glee as he braced his arms as if som-

The inside of the warehouse ignited, launching Jockey through one of the windows and into the street, his body crashing into the windshield of a police cruiser. The officers gave a shocked yell, quickly climbing out of the car as he groaned in pain. His head was screaming, not to mention the fucking agony of whatever happened to his fucking eye, but he managed to get to his feet. Parts of his costume had been completely burned away, namely around his arms and the left half of his mask. He pulled the other half off, wincing when he felt some burnt, charred skin be torn off along with it. Pushing his hair out of his face, he turned to the police officer's whose car he just wrecked.

He gave them a weak wave. "Hey." He looked back at the warehouse, watching as a pillar of white hot flames burst through part of the roof, before glancing back at the officers, "Yeah, I don't have a joke for you about the situation, this, this whole thing is just a shitshow."

"Shock Jockey," One of the officers spoke up, and the hero recognized the voice as the one over the radio. "My experience with you should speak for itself, but please tell me you called for backup."

Before he could even answer, the asphalt in front of them exploded, followed very quickly by one of the walls of the warehouse collapsing inwards. Jockey gestured with his head, saying, "I think that should speak for itself." He stepped around the officers, opening the rear doors to the cruiser and climbing in. "I'm gonna just…" He waved his burnt hands over his torn apart eye, "Yeah. Have fun guys." He laid down on the seat and curled in on himself, trying to pass out before the shock wore off and he actually began to feel his injuries.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Boy, do you have some explaining to do when you wake up."

Akira groaned, feeling his entire body ache, "Oh boy, I love hearing that as soon as I come around."

His father slapped him on the arm, "Don't do stupid shit if you don't want to hear me complain!"

The younger man hissed in pain, trying to smack his father back. "You don't see me hitting you every time you come back with a burn you jackass, knock it off!"

Akihiro helped his son sit up, patting him on the back and handing him his phone. "Please text your friends or something, your ringtone is annoying, you couldn't have picked a nicer song?"

"You got a problem with the Ink Spots? Fuck off, how is my taste in music older than your own?" He ignored the texts he's gotten, instead going right to his contacts and pressing call. If there was one thing in the universe he could always count on, it was for Hamada to answer her phone. After a few seconds, she picked up, and he spoke before she could say anything. "Shut up, I need an update on Toga."

"Hey Sho- Ugh, you would cut me off." Hamada had just gotten on the phone with him and she already wanted to hang up. That had to be a new personal record, one Akira tried not to feel too proud of. "I don't have any updates for you, Shogeki-kun."

"Alright, so you're telling me that the murderous, psychotic, admittedly medicated, but nonetheless highly dangerous villain that I entrusted to you to watch over while I'm away, has stopped existing? Because that is the only acceptable answer I will take, for why you would have no updates!" He yelled through the phone, already getting annoyed.

"Okay, you're right, that's not entirely true, we're just- No, I'm not telling him about Toga-chan, shush!"

"Excuse you? What the fuck is happening over there?"

"Ah, no, Um, uh, look, uhh, Toga found out about what happened to you, and she- she didn't exactly take it well."

"Fuckin-" Akira let out an angry yell, "You were supposed to fucking watch her!"

"I'm sorry, okay!" The water girl sounded close to tears, "We were eating breakfast when Totsu told us about what happened to you, and he said your dad told him about your eye and-"

"Where is Toga now? Are you with her?" Akira could feel the painkillers starting to wear off, a horrible pain starting to grow in his burned arms.

"She's with Kikai and Sakana, they took her to Recovery Girl." Hamada sniffled a bit, trying to calm herself down, "I don't know if they took her to a hospital or not."

"God damnit." He hung up, trying to not throw his phone at the wall. A knock from the doorway caught the father and son's attention, seeing a nurse waiting for them.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." When they both shook their heads, she continued, "I just came to give you another dosage of painkillers. You weren't supposed to wake up for another few hours, so I didn't expect to be hearing so much noise from this room. Are you feeling alright."

Akira sighed, "Tired and sore. I assume nothing can be done about my eye, huh?"

The nurse shook her head, "Any kind of prosthetic that we could employ would be burnt out by your quirk."

"Figures. Whatever, just dose me with whatever you got." He held out his arm, allowing the nurse to supply his needed respite before she left them alone. He grabbed his phone again, saying, "I'm gonna send a text Totsu's way, tell him to pop by in a few hours. No way am I sitting around in this place by myself for more than a few hours." She scratched at the bandages on his face, growling. "Fucking eye, itches like crazy."

Akihiro looks at his son lying in the hospital bed. He chuckled softly, "So I guess you have some of your mother in you after all."

Akira looked up from his phone, staring at the wall for a few seconds with a confused look on his face, before turning to his father, "Where the fuck are you making a connection here?"

"Your mother had an uncle who only had one eye, really crazy guy he was. He never liked me, so we never talked much, but with your hair the way it is and that missing eye, you're starting to remind me of him."

The younger Shogeki's eyes went wide. "Aw, shit, he fucked up my hair on that side, didn't he?!" He threw his head back into his pillow, sighing heavily. "I guess I'm gonna need to go to Netto to help get that fixed."

Akihiro laughed at his son, clapping him on the shoulder. "Alright, alright, get yourself some rest. I need to head back to the station, Kamui will only cover for me for so long."

His father left not too soon after that, leaving Shogeki to fall back asleep. He must have been out of it for a few hours, because his room was much brighter than it was before he fell asleep. It had to have been past noon at this point, although the time of day was of little importance to him. No, he'd rather find out why there were a ton of cookies being balanced on his forehead!

He shook his head, sending the cookies falling to the ground while Totsu gave an anguished moan. "Shogeki! I almost had 20 stacked, I could have beat my record!"

"How am I already regretting my decision to call you here?" Shogeki asked, sending a glare towards the other man.

Totsu gave an annoyed huff. "C'mon man, don't be like that, I'm trying really hard to make you feel better. Here I got something for you."

Shogeki watched as Totsu started to rummage through his bag before he pulled out a pair of bright pink sunglasses, a wide smile on his face until the boy noticed the unimpressed look on Shogeki's face. He looked back down at the sunglasses."Oh... Man, did you really have to lose an eye, it couldn't have been, like, an ear or something?"

"I'll be sure to forward your complaints to Dabi next time I see him."

"Think you'll ever run into him again?"

Shogeki shrugged, "Only if the Harpy doesn't reassign me. Speaking of, I doubt she will, I managed to do a real number on him before she showed up."

"Real shit?" Totsu asked, surprised.

"Yep, I got exactly one solid punch in on him." Shogeki noticed the unimpressed look on his friend's face. "For the record, Endeavor didn't even get a single hit in."

"What, do you hold the record on hitting him or something?"

"I dunno, I didn't exactly see if she managed to tag him or not before he disappeared. I'm starting to think Dabi really doesn't want to fight her."

"You're telling me." Miruko said, stepping into the room, a bag in her hands. She seemed annoyed by something, but if she had anything she wanted to share, she'd have started with it. "Here, I got something for you." She tossed the bag onto the bed, it landed heavily on his chest and knocked the breath out of him. As he tried to get himself back together, she sat on the chair on his other side, out of his view. "I'm starting to think you're onto something with Dabi not wanting to fight me. This is the second time he ran at the sight of me."

"Why the hell did you bring me a bag full of batteries and a bottle of eyedrops?" Shogeki wheezed, holding up a handful of D batteries.

"Whatever quirk suppressants you got hit with have probably worn off by now, but the hospital won't let you charge yourself up, right?" The older woman shrugged her shoulders, "I remember you said your charge affects your health, figured you feel like shit running on empty."

He nodded, holding as many batteries as he could and siphoning their power, instantly feeling the cloudiness he's been feeling start to disappear. He handed them off to Totsu as he made to grab some more. "That doesn't explain the eyedrops, though."

"Well, you've only got the one eye now." She smirked at him, "Figured you'd want to keep it in perfect shape."

"And there it is." Shogeki sighed, finished with his battery… meal, he guessed. "Moving on from the teasing train, I'd like to bring up the fact that no one has given me an update on Toga which, seeing as the League is the whole reason I'm even in this position, I feel is something I should be kept informed of."

"Oh yeah, your girlfriend is in the other room." Miruko answered, standing up, "Wanna go see her? I'm sure you're feeling well enough to walk, right?"

"Yeah sure, help me up." The two helped him to his feet, keeping him steady as he shook off his vertigo. "What happened to her anyway, Totsu? Hamada only told me she had an episode when she heard about my eye."

"Oh, yeah, uh, you might just want to see for yourself. You'd be able to handle her better than anyone else, that much is known." The durable man said, leading him down the hall and to Toga's door. Shogeki couldn't hear anyone talking on the other side of the door, which both comforted and concerned him.

"Whelp," Miruko slapped him on the back, sending him stumbling a bit, "I'm gonna head out. I was on my way to a charity thing down the way, I just stopped by to drop off that little care package for you. Try to keep yourself out of the hospital, I don't pay you to get your ass kicked."

"We both know you don't pay me anywhere near what I'm actually worth." Shogeki replied, only a small amount of bitterness in his voice.

"Well, it's a good thing I control your wages." She left with that, turning to walk down the hall.

"Pay for my medicine." He called after her, no real emotion in his voice.

"Naaaaaaaah." She threw back, just as devoid of emotion.

Totsu looked on with confusion. "I swear, she's like a different person when you actually talk to her."

"I've told you before, memeing jackass, remember?" Rolling his shoulders, Shogeki steeled himself for dealing with a worked up Toga. He opened the door, his suspicions skyrocketing when he saw Toga immediately cover her face with a pillow. Sakana and Kikai looked his way, taking in his bandages. The look on his face, tired and angry, was enough to tell them to leave the room. Once the two of them were alone, he crossed his arms, trying not to wince. "Toga, get over here."

The blonde girl sat up, still holding the pillow over her face. She managed to slide herself off of the bed, walking towards his voice. He caught her by the shoulders to prevent her from walking into him.

"Toga," he started in a stern voice, "Give me the pillow."

"No." Her voice was muffled, but it sounded like she was close to tears.

He sighed, running a hand down his face. "We're not doing this right now, give me the pillow. Come on, Toga, what the hell were you thinking?"

"I didn't want you to feel sad ab-"

"Toga, give me the pillow."

"-out your eye, but no one would tell me i-"

"Toga, I'm not playing with you girl."

"-f you were okay, or if you were feeling well, and they wouldn't let me go see you and I didn't know what to do so I-"

"Toga, shut the fuck up and show me your face!" She jumped when he yelled at her, holding the pillow tighter against her face. He held her shoulders tighter, shaking her gently. "Do you have any idea what you're doing to me, girl?" He told her, "I have too much that I have to worry about, I can't be waking up in the hospital, just to be told that you're there too."

"Promise you won't be angry with me?" She asked from behind her pillow.

"Toga, if you don't move that pillow, you're gonna suffocate yourself."

"Promise me you won't be mad."

"I'm not promising that at all. I'll feel whatever I damn well want to." He rubbed her shoulders, trying to get her to relax, before he moved his hands up to the pillow. She let him pull the pillow away from her face, making him sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose. "Jesus christ, what am I gonna do with you, girl?"

"But… Now we match?" She asked hopefully, making him stare at her with a strange look. "What?"

"Himiko, you moron, you tore out the wrong eye." She stared at him for a minute, reaching up to feel that, yes, she had torn out her right eye instead of her left. The wrong one. Meaning that they didn't exactly match like she'd hoped.

"Oh…" She said softly, letting out a hesitant, airy laugh before leaning forward and wrapping her arms around him. Shogeki gave another deep sigh, bringing her closer and letting her cry. He never seemed to be able to catch a break, did he?

"Alright, just get it out of you." She hugged him tighter, and he started to gently rock her back and forth. This whole thing must hurt like hell for her. He was lucky enough for Dabi to burn away most of his nerve endings; Everything except the surrounding area and the actual remains of his eye caused him any pain, but her nerve endings were all still intact. "Stupid girl, you're lucky you didn't kill yourself." He felt her start shaking a bit harder, sobbing just a bit louder than before. He sighed, resting his chin on her head.

Shogeki was briefly reminded that his family was cursed- the men born into his family always had the habit of attracting the attention of the craziest woman they could find, regardless of their own thoughts on the manner. He thought about the stories he'd been told about his mother, and his grandmother, and their similarities to the girl he held in his arms, rubbing small circles into her back.

He was gonna have to have a long talk with Nedzu about this whole ordeal, as well as a session of yelling at Hamada for being a useless water witch again. That would have to wait for later, though. Keeping the girl in his arms in one piece took priority over anything else. He still had his duties, that's what being a hero meant, and just because he was injured didn't mean he was off the clock.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It was a tired and annoyed Shogeki that lounged beneath a blanket on one of the common room sofas the next day, Totsu sitting on a chair to his left and out of his view. After another night of rest to heal a bit more, his quirk had returned in full, allowing him to properly charge himself and feel far better than the day before. This left him leaning on his right arm, remaining eye focused on the television in front of him while watching a documentary on heroes who've lost limbs in the line of service.

"You know, I always forget that Ectoplasm is missing both of his legs."

Shogeki craned his neck, trying his damndest to bring his friend into his field of view. "The man sounds like he's walking on pogo-sticks, how the hell do you possibly forget that?"

"Alright, well, some of use haven't developed super hearing to compensate for our lack of proper eyesight, so you're gonna have to go easy on us."

"Really trying to suck that joke for all its worth, aren't you?" He didn't even have to look at Totsu to know that he's trying to hold in his childish giggles. "Seriously, the last 24 hours have been nothing but eye jokes, I'm surprised Aka hasn't said anything."

"Well, Aka might be blind, but he still has something that you don't."

"Better friends?" Shogeki tried to guess.

"Both of his eyes." Totsu began to loudly laugh at the strained, barely contained scream of rage Shogeki made. He had been dealing with enough, and Totsu was very quickly pushing him towards the edge.

The edge was brought all the closer when Sakana bounced into the common room, holding her hands behind her back as she shoved her face into his view, a gleaming smile shining brighter than her facepaint. "Shogeki, I know you're all Groucho Marx about your eye-"

"Don't tell me you did something." He was surprised by how desperate his voice sounded.

"So, I called my grandma to come and take care of you!"

"I'm starting to wish Dabi had just fucking killed me."

"Oh, don't be like that, you'll love her, I promise." She watched as Shogeki's face grew slowly more red, his teeth clenched as a few veins propped up on his forehead. "You okay buddy?"

"I'm trying to pop enough blood vessels to get sent back to the hospital."

"Dude, I'm starting to think you're overreacting." Totsu said from somewhere on his left, not like Shogeki was able to fucking see him anymore.

"Totsu, if I still trusted my depth perception I'd throw something at you. Also," He turned to Sakana, "You seemed to have forgotten why no one has been inviting any family for visits lately."

"Really? Why not?" She asked.

Instead of saying anything, Shogeki instead threw off the blanket that he had been using, revealing that Toga had been hidden underneath, snuggled into his side and blissfully asleep.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about Toga-chan. You're really warming up to her, aren't you?"

"No." Shogeki snorted, lying through his teeth, "These painkillers have me so fucked up my entire body is practically numb. This keeps her quiet so I can focus on learning the problems of living with only one eye. Not to mention anything I learn, I'm gonna have to teach her crazy ass as well."

"Well, first you'll have to learn to start turning your head about 30 degrees more to the left when you're on patrol."

"Sakana, go away before I punch you." The clown took this as her sign to leave, promising to return once her grandmother got here.

Toga whined a bit in her sleep, snuggling a bit closer to him as Ishi helped him grab his blanket. He covered them again, trying to ignore how damn cold it was. He hated winter, preferring the nice and balmy spring over any other season, but Toga seemed to think that the cold of winter is the best excuse to be close to him. Plus, she's stolen one of his hoodies once they got back from the hospital, and has been using the "I'm cold" excuse whenever he tries to get it back.

This week has been quite the emotional rollercoaster, hasn't it?

"Oh shit, I keep forgetting that Christmas is in a few days." Totsu said, making Shogeki look up at the holiday commercial playing on the tv. That reminded him, he still had to go and choose gifts for the people he thinks have earned them. A soft snore from beside him told him that Toga was still asleep, meaning he'd have some time to think about gifts for at least a little while longer. He wondered what to get for the blonde girl, and whether or not he'd be able to play it off as a duty to his work project, or if anyone would see through it. They bothered him enough about calling Toga his girlfriend, but if they found out that he was starting to feel sweet on her, he'd never get a peaceful moment in this building until the day he graduates.

Class 2-A Student Spotlight

Aka Ao- Male

Birthday- 2-27

Quirk- Pulse-Based Radar

Hero Name- Blind Hero: Spectrum

Heroic Rank 19

Academic Rank 10

Long red hair past his shoulders, with blue spots and splotches. Fully blind, eyes are a pale blue. Wears a navy blue dress shirt with a wine red vest, and black pants. Has suspenders attached to his pants, but they hang loose off of his waist. Stands about 5'9. Very friendly and polite, an avid fan of tea.


	8. December 23rd

A/N- A friend of mine, ProfoundCranium, recently pointed out how much Shogeki infuriates him. That made me happy.

"I never thought I'd have to do something like this again." Shogeki mumbled, looking at the small list he made.

Totsu looked up from his own list, raising an eyebrow, "What, go Christmas shopping for a partner? Did you really plan to be single your whole life?"

"No, not that, although I appreciate you being more confident in my love life than I am."

"Anytime, man."

"But no, I never thought I'd be bringing another partner with me on my yearly… Outing, to the Kansai region tonight." Totsu gave him a blank look, before he remembered what his friend was referring to.

"Wait! That's today?!"

"Why the fuck else would we be clothes shopping at 9am you moron?!" A few passersby turned to stare at the duo as Shogeki's angered yell echoed through the mall.

"Would you stop screaming you pathetic pig!" Rifuto said, slapping his shoulder, "I understand that you require my help, but you won't get it if you continue to act like a rowdy dog!"

Diariseki sidled up next to Totsu, the two of them trying to ignore Rifuto's tirade against their electric classmate. "So, hey, I get why Rifuto is here, Shogeki usually goes to her whenever shopping is involved, but, uh, why am I here? I mean, we're cool and all, don't get me wrong, but we're not exactly in the same friend groups, y'know?"

"What, yes we are, we hang out all the time."

"Yeah, alone." The blue bomber pointed out, "You normally hang out with Shogeki, Toga, Hamada, Kikai, and, surprisingly, as of late, Sakana. I usually hang around Netto, Uzumaki and Osore. They're all much more chill, y'know?"

"Huh. You know, you're right. Hey Shogeki, why is Diariseki coming with us?" Totsu asked the cyclops.

"Because after the shit Akage tried to pull on me last year, I'm not pulling any punches." Shogeki responded, speaking through clenched teeth.

Diariseki was confused, "Wait, who is this Akage guy?"

Totsu gave a nervous laugh, "Uh, not super important right now, just know that last year he threw a pot of boiling holy water at Shogeki. Luckily he missed and hit me instead, so no one got hurt, but clearly Shogeki's not playing around anymore."

"Damn right I'm no- Rgh!" Shogeki let out an angry growl as Rifuto hit him again. "Bitch! Hit me one m-" A loud slap echoed throughout the mall as Shogeki's head was whipped to the side. Rifuto stood in front of him, the palm of her hand stinging as the taller boy slowly turned back to look at her. A small trail of blood was leaking from his nose, and a red handprint was quickly forming against his skin.

"Speak to me in that tone again and I will do far more than slap you, boy." She said calmly, turning away and continuing to lead them to their destination. "If you are going to be in my presence, then you will speak properly and politely."

"… Do what you need to do in order for this trip to be over as fast as possible." Shogeki said, his voice slow and heavy. The white haired princess raised an eyebrow and motioned with her hand, telling him to continue. "… Please." He ground out, finally satisfying her. Hands on her hips, Rifuto led him into the tailor they had finally arrived at, leaving Totsu and Dairiseki outside, Totsu, grabbed his dumbfounded friend and dragged him along. They both had last minute Christmas shopping to do, and very little time to do it.

"Holy shit." Diariseki breathed, looking over his shoulder towards the tailor, "I never thought I'd see the day anyone got Shogeki to back down."

"Oh come on, man, I've seen Shogeki back off when he feels he's been proven wrong, he just hates doing it. Besides, I've got 10,000 yen saying that that will be the least surprising thing you see him do today."

"Dude, what the hell have you guys dragged me into?" The hint of fear in Diariseki's voice was something Totsu understood all too well.

"Look, it's not my place to tell you why, but December 23rd is probably Shogeki's most hated day of the year. Out of all of our classmates, only myself and Hamada know the whole story, and Sakana knows a little bit because she came with us last year." Totsu explained, "Just buckle in and get ready for the ride, if you make it the whole trip, Shogeki will owe you a favor, and I know you have some commissions you'll need his help for."

"It's not my fault he's shit at being an underground hero. Dude gets sighted once, and I suddenly have a ton of people wanting commissions of Shock Jockey, ooo." The blue boy waved his hands sarcastically, "Hell, one of those requests is for a picture of both Shock Jockey and Loopsie, meaning that either their joint patrol was very popular, or Sakana is trying to commission art from me again."

"Oh yeah, I forgot she follows you, how did her old commissions ever work out?"

"Perfectly fine, although they've aged like milk. Who ever thought asking me to paint her and Shogeki sitting under a tree watching a sunset wouldn't age well?"

"… I've been in her room, she still has that painting hanging on her wall."

Diariseki groaned, holding his head in his hands. "I need to stop taking money from that girl."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Toga didn't know what the big deal was with her friends today, but everybody was just so tense.

It started when she woke up, and Aki-chan looked like he was ready to kill someone. She could guess that he looked like that pretty often- And it was one of his most attractive qualities in her mind- But it was never his default expression. Then, instead of allowing her to be watched by another one of their friends, she was locked back into her room again, and was forced to stay there for a few hours until he came back with Rifuto-chan, the white haired princess throwing a bag of clothes at the girl and ordering her to get ready. When she was finally let out of her room, now wearing a nice navy blouse and a black skirt, leggings, as well as her yellow ribbon, she was forced to sit in the common room as Sakana-chan did her makeup.

It seemed like everyone was on edge, and nobody would answer her questions about why all of this was happening. Not even threatening to bite them made them talk!

These people were no fun sometimes.

Totsu-kun took a look at her as Sakana-chan finished up her mascara, nodding to himself as he checked his phone. "Alright, Shogeki is heading down now. Diariseki should be here with his mother's car in about 30 minutes, we'll head out then."

"Tell me where we're going!" The blonde demanded, pouting.

"Shogeki told me not to tell you, so it's not my call. Look, just ask him yourself." He nodded towards the stairs as he went into the kitchen, probably to grab a snack before their trip or something.

Toga watched as Shogeki came down the stairs, and to say that her boyfriend had been replaced with someone else would have been an understatement. His long hair has been pulled up into a high ponytail, revealing the scarring on his face and into his ear, and he wore a dark grey eyepatch that covered his ruined eye. This was a welcome surprise for the blonde, his eye had become kind of icky to look at, but it's not what took her breath away, oh no, for his normally drab, boring t-shirt and sweatpants had been replaced with a proper suit, black pants and jacket, even a dark grey vest. Her favorite part of the whole get-up was the deep maroon dress shirt he wore.

"Get your head out of your ass, girl." His words knocked her out of her little trance, focusing in on his face. She could feel a blush heating up her face. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out of it. "By the way, where we're going isn't the place for bullshit, so wear this." He then held out-

"Oh Aki-chan, you shouldn't have!" She took the eyepatch from his hand, hugging it close to her heart, "Matching eyepatches, just like I wanted for Christmas."

"No, god damnit, they're just standard eyepatches that I ordered through a site, stop reading so much into things will you?"

"Oh yeah, speaking of eyepatches, when is your custom one coming in?" Totsu asked.

"Hard to say, but it shouldn't be long. I'm having to redesign a portion of my costume to deal with the damages, might finally move on from that crusader look Diariseki had designed for me. Toga, stop struggling." The cyclops answered, helping Toga fit the eyepatch properly. Once the eyepatch was on, he softly patted her cheek as he moved over to Totsu-kun, the two having a quiet conversation, speaking too softly for her to hear. She figured that she was tired of being kept out of the loop, and made to quietly creep closer.

"Hey, Toga-chan." Toga jumped, startled at the mention of her name from behind her.

"Hmm?" The blonde turned to Sakana-chan, the clown girl giving her a soft look.

"About Shogeki-kun, today is a really… Tense day for him. Give him some time, I'm sure you'll learn, but don't leave him alone, okay? Please?" The clown's voice held none of it's usual cheerfulness. "I was around for him last year, but y'know, that's clearly changed. Just keep an eye on him."

"Yeah, okay. Sure, Sakana-chan, thanks for the advice." Toga could tell that something must be very wrong if even Mana-chan was worried about it. She once watched the clown fall down the stairs with a smile on her face. Finally making her way over to her boyfriend, she caught his attention by tugging on his sleeve. "Why are we getting all dressed up, Aki-chan?" The blonde asked, adjusting her ribbon. She hadn't told Hamada-chan, but the water girl had been right, the yellow ribbon went really well with her eyes.

"Because we're going to church." He answered.

Her head swung around to stare at him. "… Huh?"

He wouldn't elaborate any further.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

During their hour long drive, Toga couldn't take her eyes off of her boyfriend. She was sitting in the backseat with Totsu-kun, while Diariseki-kun drove. In the passenger seat, she watched as Aki-chan would go from tense to calm, to angry, then back to tense, all in an endless cycle. If she thought he had any less composure, he'd probably be tearing his hair out. Totsu-kun was either checking his phone or taking glances at his best friend, which told the blonde that he was just as nervous as she was. She honestly felt really bad for Diariseki-kun, he probably didn't deserve whatever was about to go down.

Nervous or not, they eventually arrived at the church, a very clearly catholic church, stained glass and all. Once they were all out of the car, Totsu turned to Shogeki. "Alright man, I want a time."

"What?" Shogeki made to pull out his phone to check the time, but was stopped by his friend.

"No, not the actual time. I'm in charge of your behavior tonight, right? That's why I'm here?" When the electric student nodded, he continued, "Then I'm in control of how long you get to bang your head against that door until I force you to give up and leave. Now, how much time do you want?"

"… 30 minutes." He said, making Totsu shake his head.

"No, fuck that, you got 30 last year and almost got yourself arrested. Try again."

"Fuck! Ju- Errh, how about 20?" Shogeki bartered.

"15, that's all you get." The electric student made to argue, but was interrupted when Totsu added, "Starting now."

"Fuck you, asshole!" Shogeki yelled, running to the doors of the church and trying to pull them open. "Akage! You fucking patsy, open these fucking doors!" Toga made to move forward to help, everyone knows she enjoys a bit of breaking and entering, but she was stopped when the dark skinned boy held out his arm.

"Toga, you stay back, leave this part to me and Diariseki." Totsu said, holding her back.

"What?! Why am I even here if you won't let me help?" They both watched as Shogeki took a running leap, trying to kick the door down, falling to the ground after an angry, failed attempt.

"Because," He paused as his friend let out another furious scream, before he continued, "Because when we're done here, Shogeki's going to be stuck in his head. We need you to make sure he doesn't start falling into a depressive episode, alright?"

"Alright."

"Can you do that?"

The girl nodded, beginning to hype herself up, "Alright, alright yeah, I can do that, whooh, yeah, okay." She bounced on the balls of her feet, getting herself ready.

"One day!" Shogeki screamed at the door, kicking at it again, "That's all I fucking ask of you, you stupid cunt, and you can't EVEN GIVE ME THAT!" His shirt had become untucked, and the buttons on his jacket had flown off, lost in the grass around them. "Open this FUCKING DOOR! OPEN TH- Diariseki! Blow it off it's fucking hinges!"

The blue bomber held up his hands, "Woah, okay, dude, I don't know man, this seems like you're going a bit far."

Shogeki turned his attention on his classmate, walking over and throwing an arm over Diariseki's shoulder. "Yoshio, hey, hi, my friend, my good friend of many years, the only reason I brought you with me was to blow this fucking door open! " He placed the blue boy's head against the door, pushing him against it. His breathing was heavy and his voice was becoming hoarse from the screaming, and Diariseki could feel Shogeki's hands shaking. "Now put your fucking hands, on this fucking door, and blow it to dust, before I break your fucking fingers!"

Totsu tried to jump in again, "Akira, you're going too far. You're pissed, I get it, but you need t-"

"Don't you fucking tell me to calm down motherfucker, don't you fucking do it!" Shogeki yelled back. Toga was getting worried for him, there was a distinct edge to his voice at this point, leading her to take a step away from him. "These cunts in this church won't let me see my fucking mother, and I'm getting into this building whether they like it or not." He let go of Diariseki, backing away a few steps, cupping his hands around his mouth as he called out, "And unless they want to replace these fucking DOORS THEY'LL LET ME IN YOU FUCKING PUSSIES!"

The large doors suddenly opened, revealing to the group an elderly man dressed as a catholic priest. He was bald, meaning it was easy for them to see how his veins throbbed in fury as he stalked towards Shogeki. "What in God's name do you want you stupid boy?! Can't you see that you are no longer welcome here after what you pulled last year?!"

"Akage!" Shogeki ran forward and grabbed the man, dragging him back inside of the church, the others sprinting to keep sight of him lest he go too far.

"Get your hands off of me you filthy heretic!" The old man yelled, struggling against the young man.

"Fuck you, pussy, I'll beat your ass into the rose-tinted dirt if it's what I want!"

"Alright, enough!" Diariseki tried to get in between them, Totsu helping to separate the two before they killed each other.

"Shogeki, we're gonna leave if you can't keep a level head over this, alright?" Totsu told his friend, the shorter man scoffing ignorantly.

"Just stay out of this, Totsu, let me say my piece." Totsu, seeing that the boy had calmed down slightly, hesitantly stepped aside, Diariseki following his lead, allowing Shogeki to face the priest once again. "Father Akage, please bring my mother to me so that I may speak with her."

"No." The stern response made the young man breath in sharply through his nose, fiddling with the cuffs of his sleeve.

"Alright, I'm gonna ask again, but I'm gonna do it my way this time, okay, is that cool?" A solid punch to the stomach had the old man doubling over, Totsu running forward to grab Shogeki and hold him back. "Where's my mother you bitch?! Where is she, send her to me?!"

"Dude, fucking chill out!" Diariseki yelled, trying to help Totsu, who had lifted a thrashing Shogeki off of his feet at this point. Toga, having nothing else to do and not wanting to sit on the sidelines, made to help the old man get back to his feet, but Akage knocked her hands to the side and refused her help.

"Do you have ANY idea on what you've helped that slut do?" Shogeki was getting worked up again, and he managed to break Totsu's hold on him, moving closer to the priest, "My father is a fucking fireman! What the hell was the plan in case he died, huh?!" He grabbed Father Akage's robes, shaking the man, "She was supposed to be there! My father shouldn't have to worry about me being alone just because some catholic child-fucker suddenly got a taste in grown women!"

"Your mother came to me because she felt the call of God, and for no reason more! Do you truly wish to rob me of one of my believers when the church has so few left these days?!" Akage seemed to be just as angry as Shogeki, spittle flying from his mouth with every word.

"Oh give me a break!" The young man replied, bringing two fists up to face to pantomime wiping some tears. "Oh boo hoo, nobody likes God anymore, time to brainwash some bitch and steal her away from her family!"

"I wouldn't have to scout out my fellow believers if abominations like you and that blue mutant you brought here hadn't thrown away the word of the good Lord!" Father Akage jabbed a finger towards Dairiseki, who bristled at the old man's comment.

"Don't you FUCKI-" A sudden, strong jab from Totsu was enough to make Shogeki drop like a rock. The taller student knelt down and picked up his friend, carrying him in a fireman's carry.

"Oh, hey! Would you look at that, he went and got himself hurt again, I think I'll go and take him to a doctor or something!" Totsu shrugged his shoulders, nodding to Toga and Diariseki to form up on him, "Uh, sorry about all of this, he went a bit further than he should have this time, but you know what they say, therapy can only do so much y'know?" He awkwardly joked, beginning to back out of the church. "Hey, uh, so, Merry Christmas, thank you for having us, we'll uh, we'll be back next year." With that, the group followed Totsu as he fled the church, heading back to the car, where he threw Shogeki into the back seat.

"Toga, you stay in the back with him." Dairiseki told her, climbing into the passenger seat, "I'll be straight with you, that fucking priest got to me at the very end, and if I'm back there with Shogeki, I might just wake him up and set him loose on the guy."

The girl nodded, climbing into the back and pulling Shogeki's head into her lap. She untied her ribbon and tried to wipe up some of the sweat that had soaked his neck and forehead. Toga pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head, trying to tune out of the conversation happening in the front of the car.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"This is awkward." Diariseki stated, to which Toga and Totsu nodded their agreement. The three of them were sitting in a small ice cream parlor that was about 20 minutes away from the school. Once he was knocked out, it only took Shogeki a few minutes to wake up, and once he did, he calmly stated his desire for a sundae. Finding a store that was open in this area was hard enough, and Totsu could tell that his friend was very much not in the mood to deal with other people, leading them to this small, quiet parlor where they were sitting.

"I swear, that guy has been all over the place today." The blue man added, his eyes flickering over to the other side of the room. Sitting alone in the corner, Shogeki looked lost in thought, staring blankly forward with no emotion on his face. His clothes were still a ruffled mess from his episode earlier, and a large bruise had formed on his neck from where Totsu had punched him. Locks of his hair had come untied and were laying limply against his face. He had his good eye turned away from them, and they guessed that he was just trying to keep them out of his sight so he could think.

Totsu weakly put a hand up, "Look, I, I defend a lot of what he does because I know he always does the right thing when it comes down to it, but this is a sore topic for him. I've noticed that these trips have been getting harder on him these last few years, but I've never seen him go off that bad." A waitress came over and brought them their ice cream, looking a bit confused when she noticed that their group had seemingly separated.

"Don't you think it's about time he got some proper help?" Diariseki asked, causing Totsu to shake his head.

"His dad's been trying to get him to go to a family therapist for years. In the end, this is the only day of the year that it really affects him this badly, any other day and he just shrugs it off. If this was a more constant issue, I'd be right with you there, but because it's seriously only today that he does this shit, that's the part that makes me want to help him myself."

Turning away from their conversation Toga took the banana sundae Shogeki had ordered and brought it over to him, sitting down at his small table. He looked up, calmly taking the spoon she offered him. He scooped up a small amount of ice cream before letting the spoon fall back into the bowl and pushing it towards her. "You can have it. Not hungry anymore. I'm just tired."

She took the spoon and ate the tiny scoop herself, enjoying a flavor she's never had before. "I didn't think I'd like banana ice cream, but it's pretty tasty." She said, trying to make conversation.

"S'alright." He mumbled, proving that neither of them were good when it came to social skills. Toga suddenly had an idea, and when Shogeki looked up, he saw her holding out another scoop of ice cream for him. After a few seconds he realized what she was trying to do and shook his head. "Not happening."

"Oh come on, Aki. Say 'aaaah'." He stared at her for a second before leaning forward, eating the spoonful she held out for him. He leaned back in his chair, looking bitter as can be as he swallowed.

They continued like this in silence for a few more minutes, slowly sharing the sundae between themselves before she asked, "What happened with your mom?" She reached out and grabbed his hand when she saw him snarl around the mouthful of ice cream he had.

"Walked out on us when I was 5. Told my father that she heard the call of God, needed to answer Him or some other bullshit. Bitch was too scared of being a mother, always had been, chose to run away instead of sticking around. Fucking cowardly cunt."

"… Do you wanna talk about it?" Toga asked him, squeezing his hand softly.

"Do you want to talk about your parents?" He countered roughly, shutting down any more questions on the topic. She let go of his hand, hugging herself and looking over to Totsu and Diariseki, who seem to have finished their ice cream as well. He sighed, reaching over and grabbing her hand again. "We'll both talk about it when we're ready. Now's just not a good time."

"Alright baby, just… Whenever you're ready." He hummed, tugging on her arm to get her to stand up. He brought her into his lap and hugged her close, burying his face in her hair. She could hear him breathing in her scent, and she sent a look towards the others. They might be here a little while, and while Dairiseki looked a bit annoyed, Totsu sent her a thumbs up. Nodding to him, she closed her eyes and leaned into Shogeki's embrace. She supposed that it was only fair that both of them had some family problems to deal with.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Early the next morning, the dorms were buzzing with activity as everyone was making sure their living quarters were perfectly clean before Christmas the next day. Shogeki would be taking Toga with him to visit his father in the morning, which would give the other students some time for their own families to visit. As a result, Chisana was using his role as Class President to force everyone to pitch in on the cleaning efforts, flitting around as he usually did, ensuring everyone was helping stronger students like Chikara and Totsu were moving furniture in order for the others to clean underneath them, and the students who could fly, namely Konchu, Kaisha, and Shogeki, were focused on making sure the ceiling and lighting fixtures were spotless. Those who weren't cleaning were in the kitchen, getting some desserts and side dishes prepared for their planned Christmas feast the next day.

It was at Ainsley's suggestion that they go for a western-style Christmas feast this year, the Scottish transfer student being sent a slew of recipes from his American cousins a few years prior. There were a few objections, mainly from Shogeki and Konchu, a rarity in and of itself for them to agree on something. Konchu was upset with the amount of animal life that would be eaten, the vegetarian that she was, but the sad looks from both her girlfriend Doro and the hulking, meat-loving Chikara was enough for her to back down. Shogeki was just being a dick and wanting to keep his traditional Japanese meal, but Toga convinced him that breakfast with his father would be enough tradition for one day, and he begrudgingly relented.

Once the dorms were finally cleaned and the cooking finished for the day, Ainsley- who was quickly reminding the class just how much of a Christmas fanatic he was- Pulled out a box of about a dozen different holiday themed movies, inviting everyone to huddle around the sofas and chairs to watch them together. Everyone seemed on board, and again, there were a few notable exceptions. Kikai had an appointment with Power Loader to go and grab some new tools for maintenance on their body, and Shogeki was very, very tired.

"Even if I didn't feel like the dead, why the hell would you think I would want to watch these hundreds year old movies?" He asked, trying to ignore the very obvious spot that Totsu had clearly saved for him and his girlfriend. "Are these movies even in Japanese, Ainsley?"

"Because it's tradition! You're all about tradition, right buddy?" Sakana countered, making a few of the others laugh at his expense.

Shogeki rubbed his face, leaning in the doorway, "Uuuugh, I'm too tired for this shit. You'd think with all of the bullshit I have to deal with, fate would throw some shit at the villains for once." Following this statement, the universe decided to punish him, as Toga popped up next to him, a bright blush on her face.

"Oh, Aki-chan~" She sang, catching his attention. He watched her point up, and lifting his head, he groaned as he caught sight of the mistletoe hanging from the doorway.

He turned to the room full of his classmates. "Which of you assholes am I going to have to kill?" Every hand in the room pointed at Osore, the perpetually-lax woman throwing her hands up.

"Woah, ya caught me!" She drawled, lazy smile on her face and sounding as if she was high on drugs, "Heh huh, heh, that was fast! Maaaan, I would have thought Sakana would get flak before I did."

A deep, tired sigh came from Shogeki, "How fucking old are you people?" He almost whined, staring at the room of people who so thoroughly annoyed him. He then glanced down at Toga, who was standing on the tips of her toes and pursing her lips. "You know what, fuck you people." He leaned down to return Toga's kiss, the blonde girl squealing happily into his mouth as she threw her arms around his neck. A few cheers began to ring out from the class before the top student flipped them off, breaking off the kiss and leaving a blushing, giggling Toga to skip over to the other girls. She threw herself onto the couch, the girls quickly surrounding her as Chisana flittered over to Shogeki and removed the mistletoe from the doorway.

"I'll just dispose of this before it causes any more trouble." The pixie said, taking the offending plant far away from the cyclops. Probably for the best, since Shogeki's plan was to shove the little green bastard down Osore's throat in revenge. Maybe he should start looking at therapy?

Omake

For whatever reason, disaster seemed to follow Shogeki in some shape or form. Normally, these disasters tended to take the shape of his… Girlfriend, Toga. However, as he stood in front of the washing machine, duffle bag full of laundry thrown over his shoulder, he had the distinct feeling that Toga wasn't involved for once.

Before his eyes the washing machine was turned off, it's lid closed. At the same time, there was a banging sound coming from inside of the machine. Dropping his bag with a sigh, he took a few steps forward and flung open the lid. A head of long blonde hair popped out, dripping wet, as Osore turned to him with a lazy smile.

"Heyyyy, Shogeki." The girl said slowly, throwing him a weak wave. The perpetually stoned girl leaned on the sides of the machine machine, still sitting inside of it. "What brings you to my neighborhood? Heh, yeah, huh."

"Osore, what the actual fuck are you doing?" He asked, dreading her answer.

She gestured to the washing machine she was sitting in, "Machine broke, dude. Tried taking a hammer to it, thought I could fix it."

"And what's wrong with it?"

"Well Boss, I threw my clothes in and added some water sauce to the stew, but the water won't go, y'know?"

Trying to work out what she was saying past all of her nonsense, he threw out a wild suggestion. "Did you try turning it on?"

Instead of answering, she turned to the control panel and pressed the on button. A second later, Osore began to slowly spin in place. She threw her arms up, "Wooah, heh, awesome, now I'll be just a minute, baby~." She threw him a flirtatious wink and tried to sink back into the washing machine and close the lid behind her, but a quick touch from Shogeki had sapped the power from the machine, leaving the boy to wrestle the girl out of the machine.

"Get the fuck out of here, Osore, go be stupid somewhere else, I bet Ishi could use some company."

"Alright Boss, I'll go see if Ishi wants a bite of Osore, eyyyyyyy!" She clapped her hands and gyrated her hips as she said that last part, before heading out of the laundry room, shooting finger guns at Shogeki before the door closed behind her. The cyclops was left to stand there alone, bathing in the silent aftermath of what was probably the dumbest interaction he's had in this last week.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

2-A Student Spotlight

Osore Kasumi- Female

Birthday- 7-16

Quirk- Hallucinogenic Nerve Agent

Hero Name- The Terror Hero: Sugarpill

Heroic Rank 15

Academic Rank 19

Osore is the class wildcard. When she smiles, she smiles BIG. Her teeth are literally too big for her mouth, meaning she can never stop smiling. Very bubbly and goofy, often spacing out or speaking nonsense as a side effect of her Quirk infecting her blood and rendering her in a constant state of pseudo-high. Rather forward and promiscuous.

A/N- If anyone is interested, DM me if you would like to join the IzuMina discord server. I'm online everyday, usually posting cut content and jokes that I didn't leave in the final version.


	9. Christmas Day

A/N- Big thanks to my editor BloodDrinker/ProfoundCranium, be sure to check out their work, they do good shit

"Remind me to never, under any circumstances, EVER bring you to my house again." Shogeki was gonna have to make an actual list of shit he couldn't let her do at this point. Frankly, it was beginning to get ridiculous.

"Is this because I tried to eat your grandpa's dog?" Toga asked, walking beside him.

"No, it's because you tried to throw an onigiri at my fath- yes it's because you tried to eat my grandfather's dog!"

"I'm sorry! He was just so small and cute! I couldn't help myself!"

"Joseph is a fucking mastiff, you blind bitch, he's bigger than you are! What the hell is this 'small and cute' bullshit?!"

"I'm sorry!" She apologized again, for what had to be the hundredth time. He ignored her, pushing open the door to the dorms and giving it a quick look to check that the only people around were the students. Totsu had texted him earlier once the last if the family members had left, but it never hurt to be careful.

"Yo!" He called out into the common room, "Who's home right n-"

"Stop yelling you insolent cur!" The shrill, angry yell from Rifuto cut him off, causing the two of them to flinch in surprise.

"Kaori-chan, let's not be rude, they've been out and about all morning." The gentlemanly voice of Tesuto admonished his partner, "It's just the two of us right now, Shogeki-san. It's safe for the two of you to enter." Taking that as good enough, the two hung up their coats on the small collection of coat racks by the door and walked into the common room, where the other couple had been spending some alone time together. A few drinks and a small plate of cookies sat on the table in front of them, and one of Ainsley's old english movies was playing on the television.

Shogeki raised an eyebrow at the television, "The fuck is this, White Christmas?"

Tesuto shook his head. "Well, it's certainly not Miracle on 34th Street my friend."

"What? Why would that matter?"

"Well, I noticed that your body temperature rose a tad when it lost the class vote last night. It was the only reaction you had to any of the movies, so I assumed it was your favorite."

Shogeki growled, "That quirk of yours really doesn't have a damn off switch does it, Tes?"

"Afraid not. Still, would you care to join us for a spell? Oh hush Kaori-chan, let me spend some quality time with my friend." At the scholar's words, Rifuto crossed her arms angrily, very purposely looking away from Shogeki.

"No, sorry, I'm pretty tired fro-"

"We'd love to!" Toga interrupted her boyfriend, sitting down on the couch opposite of the other couple and pulling Shogeki down to sit next to her. She grabbed the blanket that had been thrown over the back of the couch and wrapped it around herself, snuggling into Shogeki's side. "Thank you Tesuto-kun!"

The blue haired boy laughed, turning to the eyepatched man. "So, Shogeki-san, when do you return to your internship?" Tesuto asked, pouring a cup of hot chocolate and passing it to Toga. The scholar had used his quirk- A Sight-Based Logistics and Analysis Quirk, quite a mouthful- to make sure that every ingredient in the recipe was measured and prepared to perfection. A bit overkill, one might say, but it resulted in- what Diariseki had once called- a damn good cup of chocolate.

"Hard to say." Shogeki sighed, rubbing at his damaged eye, "I've only lost my eye a week ago- I still need to learn how to properly compensate for it. I'm sure I'll be back in top form after another week or two. Thing is, Miruko took my Provisional License, so I can't legally go on patrol."

"Wait a minute." Rifuto spoke up from her place snuggled into Tesuto's side, a blanket wrapped around them, "Miruko suspended your license? I wasn't aware the pros had the authority to do that."

"She didn't, and they don't."

Toga loudly slurped up some of her hot chocolate before saying, "I don't get it."

"She took my license- Like physically took it. She's keeping it locked in her desk at the Crescent Moon agency. If I'm not carrying around that license when I call in the cops to arrest a criminal, they're gonna haul me off with them."

"I guess you could say you've been grounded!" The chipper voice of Sakana cut in, her loud laugh quickly following her joke. Shogeki groaned as the clown girl sat on the recliner nearby, pinching the bridge of his nose angrily. "So, what are we talking about?"

"Oh my fucking god, Tes, whatever underlying scheme you were planning on talking me into, please make it quick so I can get away from this hell creature." Shogeki weakly begged, gesturing towards Sakana.

Tesuto placed his mug down on the table and cleared his throat. "I had been hoping to be more subtle with my questioning, but allow me to make this quick," Tesuto began, "My family has recently been eyeing some property over in Honshu, specifically a rather lovely cottage in the forest. My secondary gift to my classmates this holiday season, separate to the gifts I have already given each of you, is to take them on a short vacation to this cottage during our one month break before we begin our third year."

"Hmm. Pass." Shogeki spoke up, quickly catching the ire of the few around him. He figured he'd clarify, "I appreciate the offer Tes, you know as much as I do that I need a proper break, but to me this just sounds like dealing with the same shit I always deal with, just in a different building. I'd rather you take everyone with you and leave me with the blonde bimbo I'm always stuck with." He ignored the slap on the shoulder he received from Toga.

Tesuto snapped his fingers, "Oh, of course, how could I forget. This offer is only for those of us who are in relationships- Think of it as more of a 'couple's retreat' than a normal vacation, if you will."

Shogeki thought on that for a second- The exclusion of a majority of his classmates suddenly made this a rather tempting offer in his mind. As he weighed his options, his eye fell upon a now-pouting Sakana.

A pouting, single, Sakana.

…

"Alright, you've got a deal." He reached out and shook Tesuto's hand, ignoring the look of disgust Rifuto was sending his way.

"Disgusting. Only willing to participate for your own gains, like some kind of mercenary." She spat at him, her arms crossed angrily.

"You know, if you're trying to take a shot at me, 'mercenary' is rather weak. You'd have more luck calling me a, I don't know," Toga leaned in and whispered something into his ear, "A sad, lonely clown girl!" The couple then burst into a fit of loud, mocking laughter, with Toga pointing a shameful finger to the rubber girl across from them.

"That's not fair! You only want to go because you know I don't have a boyfriend!" Sakana exclaimed, stamping her foot.

"Oh no, it's almost like I don't like you or something." Shogeki deadpanned, which only made her frown harder, before the clown suddenly had an idea.

Sakana's arms stretched out, one reaching into the kitchen and the other pushing through the door into the boy's dorms. She reeled them back in, dragging with them Diariseki, who was trying to hold onto the piece of gingerbread he had been eating, and Totsu, who appeared to have been on his way to take a shower if his lack of a shirt said anything. She pulled the two boys close, sandwiching herself between them, a bright smile on her face. "You guys can have or take whoever you want on that trip- I've got my two new boy toys to take care of me." She ended her claim with a catty growl and a foxy look in her eyes, causing the two boys to fall into a pair of babbling idiots, trying to snake their way out of her rubbery grasp.

"Ooooh, am I high, or do I smell Tesu-Cocoa?" Osore called out, walking into the room and lazily flopping over the back of the couch, ending up next to Toga. She gave her usual, absent minded laugh, her legs thrown over the back of the couch as she held out a hand for a cup.

Pouring her a cup, Tesuto handing it to the newcomer, saying "I was discussing with the others about a sort of 'couples retreat' Osore-san. Would you happen to be in a relationship at this time?"

"I dunno man, I slept with Ishi last night, does that count?" She responded, very carefully trying to drink her treat while upside down.

"Hmm. I don't think it does, I'm sorry."

Shogeki scoffed, "Oh c'mon man, don't be bringing Osore on this trip, that hippie sexpot is gonna wanna sleep with everyone. Between the two of us, we should be trustworthy enough to tell everyone here that you do not want the hangover that comes after you spend the night fucking her."

The stoner girl in question gave an airy laugh. "You just weren't man enough to handle me, Boss. Y'know we could always try ag-"

"Hard fuckin' pass." Shogeki said, shutting down any further discussion on the topic, "I don't think sleeping with you is worth the vivid, nightmarish hallucinations your quirk gives me." During this exchange, Toga was trying not to look too annoyed.

"You know, it is rather odd that you and Sakana-san are the only two in the class who have negative reactions to Osore-san's quirk." Tesuto mumbled, cupping his chin in his hand, "I wonder if there's something to that?"

The awkward silence that descended onto the group was enough to tell them that Tes question had kind of killed the mood of the conversation.

"Have you ever noticed that hot dogs taste 10,000% better when they're eaten at any place that isn't your home? Like, how do I get that 'Just throw it at me, man!' ballpark taste without leaving my house?" Osore said from her place on the couch, breaking through the silence that had fallen upon them.

"Oh my god, Osore, why are you here?" At this point, it was clear to everyone present that Shogeki wanted nothing more than to kill himself.

Tesuto coughed, breaking through the awkward lull in the conversation. "Thank you for that little piece of trivia, Osore-san. Um, perhaps we should go back to watching our movie, shall we?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Oooh, Aki-chan, try the ham!" Toga hummed, chewing on the piece of roasted pork.

"I'd rather not." The electric student said, gazing upon a plate that was filled with an array of meats, vegetables, breads and potatoes. "Western recipes were never really a favorite in my family."

"Look man, would it really kill you to enjoy a meal for once?" Totsu asked his friend, who was staring at his plate like he was waiting for it to explode.

Shogeki poked at the slice of ham on his plate. "I don't understand why I'm being forced to eat this sl-"

"OI!" Ainsley interrupted the cyclops, jabbing a fork at him from across the table, "I'll 'ave yeh know thas me Gran's rec'pe! Dan be talkin' your shite within' freesin distance ya hoke!"

"Speak proper Japanese you Scottish fuck!" Shogeki yelled back, being held down in his seat by Totsu placing a strong hand on his shoulder, "I can't understand a word you fuckin' said!"

"Dude, relax. It's a holiday, and the food tastes great, just give it a try." Totsu tried calming him down, "Look, even Hone is enjoying himself, and that never happens. Just take a break for once, man."

"Yeah!" Toga added, using her fork to snag a piece of ham from his plate, "Here, the ham is super tasty! C'mon, say 'Aaaah'!"

Shogeki snatched the fork out of her hand, "What is with you and this fuckin' ham? All morning at my dad's place, you've been mouthing off about this fuckin' ham. You want me to eat the ham, fine, I'll eat the fuckin' ham." He roughly shoved a forkful into his mouth, hiding his mouth behind a hand so he could continue to talk without being rude. "It's just a fucking normal ham, now sto- That's a damn good ham, what the hell?." At his words, Toga began to almost glow. She brought her hands to her cheeks and began to blush wildly, a large smile on her face.

"Jesus Christ, what is with you today?" He asked, trying to figure out if he should be concerned or not.

"Wha? Yea dan kno'?" Ainsley asked him, "Toga helped as pr'pare the ham las' nigh'." The Scottish boy took a bite of the ham, humming to himself. "Did a damn good job, sae so m'self."

"Aki-chan likes my cooking…" Toga said softly, rocking side to side in her seat. He gave her the fork back and tried to ignore her soft sighs of joy. He decided to keep his mouth shut and just eat his dinner, lest it reveal that Toga had somehow touched any more of his food by proxy.

After an incredibly satisfying dinner- Not that Shogeki would ever admit it- Toga was pulled away by Hamada and, to his surprise, Rifuto. They took the blonde up to Hamada's room, giving Shogeki a chance to properly relax and do something that was actually worth his incredibly valuable time.

"Flush." Shogeki plainly said, putting his cards on the table.

"What?! Fuck you!" Hone exclaimed, throwing his cards down.

"Cry all night pussy, so long as you pay up." The electric student responded, pulling the small pile of money towards him. Chikara and Diariseki both groaned, throwing their own cards down onto the table in defeat. Tesuto took this chance to collect the cards and reshuffle the deck. Despite his love of poker, he realized that he could very easily cheat with his quirk, meaning that in his participation in the usual "Poker Night" their little group held, he would be relegated to act as the dealer. It also helped that he'd be able to catch anyone else who tried to cheat, so this set-up worked well for everyone.

As Tesuto began to deal out their next hands, Diariseki suddenly sat up a bit straighter. "Shit, almost forgot. Uh, Shogeki-" The man in question looked up from his cards, frown on his face, "I need to ask you a favor."

"I'm not modelling for you, for the last time. You've got Sakana trying to suck your dick these days, go ask her to do it."

"What? Dude, be serious for a minute, help a brother out."

"Fine, but it depends on what it is."

"Alright, it's really easy man, I just need you to sit down with my sister for like, 30 minutes and do a little interview with he-"

"Pass." Shogeki cut him off, throwing down a rather weak hand. Luckily for him, everyone else decided to fold, meaning the meager pot they'd bet for this round was all his to take.

"Aww, c'mon man!" Diariseki tried to plea.

"No. That's final."

"Look man, you'd be doing the both of us a huge favor here. She was an executive at her old publishing company but they were destroyed along with everything else in Deika City the other month. Now she needs a story to put on her resume, just do her a favor."

"I swear, what is with everyone not understanding that I'm supposed to be an underground hero?! I don't want to deal with this type of shit!"

"Yeah, you're an underground hero, but you're also a student who managed to snag an internship with Miruko, and you've fought a known member of the league of villains. Do you know how many journalists would kill to have the chance to interview you?"

"I don't care how hard their dicks get when they think about interviewing me, it's not happening." He threw his cards down, folding for their current round. "I fold, got nothin' this round."

That same sentiment was shared around the table, letting the pot grow as their bets were increased with the next round.

"C'mon man, it'd be easy, just sit down, answer a few questions, and you'd both be on your way."

"That sounds like an actual nightmare."

"Don't you want to get some good publicity for Miruko?"

"What? No," Shogeki snorted, tossing a card back to Tesuto and throwing a few more bills into the growing pot, "Why the hell would I get that harpy any good publicity? Any time any of her workers make the agency look good, she'll say something stupid during an interview that fucks the whole thing up. I swear, I really need to send like a gift basket or something to her poor, overworked secretary."

"No, no, come on! It would be super easy, dude!" Diariseki pushed, "I mean, she just wanted to ask you the usual questions, 'What inspired you to be a hero?', 'Which hero would you say you relate to the most?', you know that kind of stuff."

Shogeki made a series of groans that sounded like tired, utter nonsense, running a hand along his face before saying, "Where would we even do an interview, we can't do it here for obvious reasons, she'd have to set up the meeting at like, a coffee shop or something. What's this bitch's name again?"

"Well she's my sister, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't call her a bitch." Oh, look at Diariseki standing up for himself, that's rather admirable.

"And I'd appreciate it if you answered my god damn question." Shogeki snapped, losing his patience, as well as the current hand. Chikara gave a loud, rumbling laugh as her giant muscled arm slid the pile of bills toward her.

Diariseki grumbled at his continued loss, picking up his newest hand. "Kizuki Chitose." He answered sourly, not looking away from his cards.

Shogeki raised an eyebrow, "… Wait, why does she have a different name than you do?"

"She's my half sister, we share the same mother."

"Full house pussies!" Hone yelled out, slamming his cards on the table. The others groaned out, throwing curses as the thuggish boy as he cackled, pulling in his winnings. Another round was dealt, and another pool of cash was thrown into the center of the table, with Tesuto keeping a careful eye on everyone playing.

"…Urgh, you know what, fine, I'll do the fuckin interview." Shogeki sighed, throwing away two cards and trying to get a better hand, "But, I ain't doin this shit for free. I'm gonna need to borrow your talents."

"God damnit, what is with you people wanting to get free commissions out of me? How the hell am I supposed to make any money as an artist this way?" The blue bomber complained. His whines only grew louder as Shogeki won the next set with a three-of-a-kind, forcing them to reset the pot once again.

"Shut the fuck up, that's not what I meant." Shogeki glanced over at Tesuto, "Yo, Tes, did you ever hear back from Pockets about my costume?"

"Afraid not my friend." The scholar shook his head, "It would appear that our business department friend is being… erm, well, difficult again."

"Great," Shogeki absentmindedly rubbed at his damaged eye again, "I guess that means my suit is fucked beyond repair. Damn fire asshole, can't wait until I run into his emo ass again." He turned back to Diariseki, "There, that's the situation. I'll do this fucking interview for you and your sister, and you'll design me a new costume."

The artist nodded, throwing his cards down in defeat at their current round and pulling out a small notepad, "What are you looking for here?"

He leaned his head back. "Ah, shit, forgot to think about that. Uh, fuck it, let's go 'Traditional samurai meets modern military', how's that sound?"

"Yeah, that sounds doable." Diariseki jotted a few lines down before he put the notepad away, "I'll have a concept sketch to you around, eh, end of the week?"

"Sounds good."

"Yeah! Once more bitches, let's go!" Hone cheered, winning the game once again.

"Fuck this, I'm out." Shogeki threw his cards in, standing up from the table and stretching his legs.

"Yeah, that's right bitch, fuckin run while you're still even!" The skinny student mocked him, "Run off, boy, go and cry to that shitty little girlfriend of yours!"

"I mean, I was planning to just take a nap or something, but if you want me to go and throw myself at women like you do, I'd probably still get farther than you."

"Oh look at you, get fuckin' assigned your very own bitch and suddenly you think you're a king, huh?"

"Well, if you're looking to fill in as my own personal jester, I'd probably-" Shogeki was interrupted when he felt a tap on his shoulder, turning to see Kaisha standing behind him. After he raised an eyebrow, the studious girl held out a shaking hand, a small list held between trembling fingers. Shogeki snatched it from her, taking a quick look at what was written.

"'Whipped cream, butter, chocolate bars'. What the shit Kaisha, this is just a normal shopping list!" He turned on the shorter girl, whose big glasses were almost slipping down her nose with how hard she was trembling.

"…" She held up another piece of paper, this one also getting snatched by the cyclops.

"'Kaisha, please run to the convenience store down the street for these ingredients. They are needed in order to finish preparing the desert - Chisana'. What, that little pixie fuck couldn't float his tiny ass to the store himself? Why ya gotta bother ME about it?!" Shogeki could feel himself getting angrier with every development, but he had to deal with both his family, and Toga all day, so he felt he deserved a fuckin' break by now.

"…" Big, fat tears began to make their way down Kaisha's face, and a quick look at her posture told him that she was just about to- Yeah, he wasn't gonna finish that thought.

He sighed deeply, feeling his shoulders sag as the weight of the day weighed down upon him. "… Y'know what, fuck it, it's Christmas. TOGA!" He yelled out, making the magnetic girl beside him flinch once again, "Get your coat girl, we're running to the corner store!" He heard an excited cheer in response, leaving him to nod to the shorter girl beside him, only to realize that she had already ran off to hide away in her room.

"That fuckin' girl, second in academics my ass." He grumbled, moving towards the door to grab his boots and jacket. Toga had seemingly beat him there, standing by the door with his jacket ready for them to leave. He very quickly and roughly snatched it out of her hands, his usual "Be careful with that!" sounding out through the common room.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The both walked out of the gas station, a strong gust of winter air hitting them and making them shiver. Shogeki was carrying the small bag of ingredients he was sent out to get, his hands shoved into his coat pockets as he tried to keep them warm. Toga was walking ahead of him, swaying her body left and right. Occasionally she'd throw a look over her shoulder, trying to catch him staring at her behind, but either he wasn't looking, or he was using his quirk to move his head super fast, because she couldn't catch him in the act.

Without a warning, Shogeki suddenly smacked himself in the face, dragging his hand across his skin, before he said, "Oh, goddamnit. Hey, uh, Toga."

She looked back at him, seeing as he had opened his jacket and was searching one of the inside pockets. "Hmm?"

He pulled something out, what looked to be a plastic bag. He held it out to her, "Here." He said, passing it off to her, "Don't say I never got you anything."

She opened the bag, pulling out a- "Oh it's so cute!" She squealed, holding out a fluffy winter hat. It was a grey color, with yellow trimmings, and two puffy baubles that hung from the sides. She pushed her face into the fabric, breathing in his scent. It was strong enough to tell her that he'd been keeping it in his jacket for at least a few days now, meaning he'd been waiting for the best time to give it to her. She looked up at him, smiling softly at him.

"What?" He said, raising an eyebrow at her staring. "You're being a bit creepier than usual, what gives?"

"Hmm. You love me." She said, pushing her face into his chest.

"The doctor told me that your new medication is a bit experimental, I'll tell him that you're experiencing delusions on our next visit."

"Don't be so grumpy!" She smacked his arm, before suddenly pushing away from him. "Ah, wait! I have to give you your present!"

"I swear to god, if you tear off your clothes and reveal that you've been wearing ribbons as underwear, I am going to m-"

"Tada~!" She cut him off by shoving a small rectangular box into his face. "Open it!"

He took hold of it, "Wait, you don't have any kind of bag with you, where were you keeping thi-"

"There's no time, hurry!" She rushed him, bouncing up and down in excitement, wrapping herself around his arm and hugging herself to him. "Open it open it open it open it op-"

"Alright! I get it!" He tried and failed to push her away, trying to open the box without dropping it. He finally managed to get it open, pulling out a long, red scarf. He held it, feeling the soft material it was made of in contrast to his own rough hands.

"Well? Well? Do you like it?" Toga asked, eager to hear his thoughts. "I know you're like an old man when it comes to traditions, and I thought, 'What's the cutest traditional thing I can get for my grumpy boyfriend?' and then I remembered that girlfriends are supposed to make their boyfriends warm red scarves! So I asked Rifuto-chan if she could help me make you a scarf!"

"Please get to the point." He said, sounding like he was trying not to cry. She glanced up at his face, but she only saw the same annoyed look he always had, so she continued with her story.

"Rifuto-chan said 'I'm not going to help you make some pathetic little ribbon for your jailer, you scum-sucking pig-sow!' and then I got upset, so I asked Tesuto-kun if he could help me, and he said something like, 'Oh scarves, oh that's so lovely! I wish I had one myself, it's getting awfully chilly outside these days!' And then suddenly, Rifuto-chan was hounding Hamada-chan to come with us to the mall for supplies!"

"Jesus Christ, these voice impressions are something." He joked, making her giggle. She looked up at him, shaking him softly.

"C'mooooon. Put it ooooooon!" She whined, "I wanna see how cute you look!"

"Well, I never look cute, so I doubt adding a fuckin' scarf is gonna change that. Second, I can't put it on, that's your job." He held it out to her, "You're supposed to wrap it around me, that's the other half of the tradition." She let go of his arm and took the scarf, standing on her tiptoes and slowly wrapping the scarf around his neck. He wouldn't look at her, instead his face was turned to the side and away from her. She could see his good eye, and she smiled wider when she saw him watching her, before he quickly looked away again.

"There! All wrapped up and so cute!" She bounced on her feet, backing up to take a look, "How is it?"

"Stop calling me cute." He pulled his phone out, trying not to look at the girl. "C'mon, we need to get back to the dorms before curfew, I don't feel like having to short out the entire security system just to get back in."

"Oh, don't worry, you could always just fly up and carry me over the wall."

"That implies I want to carry your fat ass over the w- grk!" His comment was cut off as he quickly doubled over, Toga's sharp fingers digging into his ribs.

"Say what you want, we both know that you just love to look." She sang, pulling her hand out of his ribs and grabbing onto his arm again, "Come on! I want to show the girls how cute we look!"

"Stop fucking calling me cute!" He yelled, leading her back to the school. A strong gust of cold, icy wind hit them head on, and despite his words and his jokes, Shogeki would admit that the scarf wrapped around his neck was definitely warm.

A/N- I apologize for such a long break between chapters. Between struggling to figure out what I wanted to do with this chapter, 3 different rewrites, entire scenes being cut, and me coming down with the flu the other week, this was the hardest chapter I've written so far. On the plus side, it's also my favorite chapter so far, and I hope you liked it too. Hope you have a good day.


	10. Underground Champion Part 1

A/N- Boy have I been busy with behind the scenes stuff. Between concepting the next few arcs, drafting chapters, helping a few friends prepare an event week and getting kicked out of my house, I have been very busy. I tried to make this chapter extra special to make up for it- 2 Pieces of artwork! I heavily recommend checking out the AO3 version in order to see them. I hope you enjoy!

DioHeavenly on Twitter, heavenly-dio on tumblr, check it for artwork and cut content

Underground Champion Arc Part 1

With a single, tired eye, and his crazy, blood junkie sort-of girlfriend by his side, Shogeki looked at the folder in front of him. Nedzu had dropped it on the desk without nary a word, but the eager way in which the mouse's eyes looked back and forth between him and the folder told him that he'd probably hate it. He quickly skimmed it, figuring it was more ridiculous, tedious bullshit he'd have to keep an eye on before sitting up straighter and suddenly snatching it off of the desk. He read the briefing in full, desperately flipping the pages as he tried to find a way out before turning back to the principal. "No."

"No? But it's such a fascinating idea?" Nedzu argued.

"NO!" He yelled, standing up, "You cannot be serious! This is your plan?!"

"For once we're in agreement." Aizawa spoke up, "A shame it only took almost 2 years for us to get to that point." The three of them were in Nedzu's office, joined with an irritated Miruko. What had started as Shogeki's bi-monthly report on Toga's behavior had quickly devolved as things normally do when this specific group of idiots are forced into the same room. Now, instead of talking about whatever LoV plans Toga might have been privy to, or her progress in therapy, they were having the dumbest possible conversation.

Shogeki reached over and grabbed Toga by the back of her cardigan, lifting her onto her feet. "You want me to take this girl, a known criminal and super-murderer, and try to turn her into a proper fuckin' hero?!"

Nedzu shrugged his shoulders, "Well, to be fair, it wasn't my idea. Tesuto-kun has been observing Toga-chan's progress since the very beginning. He suggested the possibility of taking her potential strengths and shaping them into the foundations of a perfectly fine hero."

"Aww, Tessy believes in me? That's so nice of him- Aki-chan remind me to make him something nice later." The boy dropped her, leaving her to fall back into her chair as he rubbed his hands over his face.

He gave a long, tired sigh. "Look, I already have my hands full with my internship and classwork. Plus, I have to head down to the support department later and try to hunt down Pockets and see what the hell is going on with my new costume-"

"Why didn't you just go to my guys, I'd have hooked you up?" Miruko asked from the side.

"Your people don't like me very much. Last time I went they tried to convince me to wear latex." Shogeki said.

Miruko began to shriek with laughter, "Oh man! If that's not a sign they're trying to sabotage your ass, I don't know what is!"

"Maybe if your guys didn't suck shit they'd be a bit more professional!"

"Toga-san," Nedzu spoke up, looking towards the blonde girl. The girl in question jumped in surprise- She normally wasn't allowed to speak during these meetings. "What would you say are the hallmarks of the ideal hero?"

The question was enough to get Aki-chan to stop arguing with the bunny lady, both of them turning to look at her, waiting for her answer.

"Oh! Um, what Stainy said!" She answered, drawing more than a few frowns from those around her.

"Starting to see things my way yet, rat?" Aki-chan's verbal jab cut through the silence in the room, causing him to receive a very physical jab from his boss.

"What would say Stain believed to be the ideal hero?" Nedzu then asked.

"He said that heroes have to always smile and help people, and should do it because they want to!"

Aki-chan received another jab, probably to keep him quiet.

"Hmm." The mouse hummed in thought, before turning to Aizawa. "How is she in combat?"

The underground hero sighed, giving Himiko a withering glare. "She's proficient."

"Stop helping." Aki-chan said, pointing at Aizawa, as Nedzu began typing into a computer.

"Aki-chan! Come on, have faith in your cute girlfriend!" Himiko whined, flailing her arms around.

"I'd sooner have faith in Dabi apologizing for my eye."

"Here you go, Toga-san." Nedzu had walked across his desk to hand Himiko a small piece of plastic. Oooh, was this a debit card?! No, she's not a hero just yet, they wouldn't be paying her right away like this.

"The idea that you are giving her an actual UA Identification Card, one that has her real name and picture on it, leaves me wishing that this entire plan blows up in your face." Aki-chan drawled, leaving the blonde to stick out her tongue at him.

"Don't worry, Shogeki-kun, you'll have plenty of time to see to her training personally!" The principal said, catching the boy's attention.

"Excuse me?"

The mouse looked over to Miruko, who was busy typing on her phone. After a few moments of total silence within the room, she glanced up, jumping when she noticed everyone around her staring at her.

"Oh! Shit, yeah, uh, stop coming to work." She said, pointing lazily at Aki-chan.

"The f- That's not how that works!" The cyclops yelled, "Just fucking suspend me properly, why do you constantly push me through all of these bullshit hoops?!"

"Well, technically, you didn't do anything worth suspending you." The rabbit hero explained, pocketing her phone and crossing her arms. "But at the same time, another student at UA had a run-in with the League of Villains. And unlike the other times, you were left permanently crippled."

"'Unlike the other times' my ass, didn't Togata's boy fuck up his arms to the point of tendon damage?"

Nedzu jumped in, "Yes, but he can still use his hand. There are permanent muscle damage that he is going through therapy to address, but there is very little that therapy would be able to do for your missing eye, Shogeki-kun."

"Not like therapy of another variety wouldn't be good for you." Miruko mumbled.

Before Aki-chan could argue- or before even Toga could defend her hubby, his temper was perfectly fine in her opinion- Aizawa began to leave the room. "The decision has been made, no use arguing it now." He said, "Go tell your classmates the news."

Aki-chan growled, before grabbing her hand. "Let's go girl, bad news ain't gonna deliver itself." He pulled her along roughly, but who cares! He was holding her hand! Himiko couldn't stop the squeal of joy that escaped her, swinging their hands back and forth as they made their way back to the dorms.

"So, does this mean I'll have to move out of our honey chamber?" Himiko asked, finding some fun in his brief confusion.

"It's called a dorm room, and probably, I don't know. If you getting your own room in the girls dorms means I'll be able to have a decent night's sleep for once, I'm all for it."

"But what about our cuddles?!" She whined.

"What about you latching onto me like a leech during the night?"

"Hmph!" She pouted, turning away from him. He's always like this, making it so hard to show him her love! Maybe she can ask to have another dinner at his father's place? Then she can cook more dinner for him! Ooh! She can just ask Kaisha-chan if she can help cook tonight's dinner? But will Kaisha start crying if Himiko asked? She does that alot, but maybe if Himiko is suuuuper nice when she asks, it'll be okay!

"… What the hell is going through that skull of yours?" Aki-chan asked, bringing her out of her planning.

"Oh, uh, do you think Kaisha-chan will cry if I ask her to help make you dinner?" She asked.

Aki-chan turned and gave her a withering look, before sighing. "You've lost your talking privileges for the day, be quiet for a while."

"Okay!"

"Shut it!" He snapped, leading her to the door to the dorms. He fished out a key to the door- Ooh, she'd have to get one of those, so much to keep track of- and unlocked the door. They made their way into the common room wh-

"Sakana, what the fuck?!" The boy exclaimed, throwing his hands up in annoyance. Glancing past him, she began laughing hysterically, the sight of the clown girl hanging from the ceiling fan by her rubber arms causing her to lose her composure. Diariseki-kun stood nearby, a smug look on his face as he rubbed his hands together. Standing next to them was Hamada and Aka Ao, the blind boy cradling a very broken coffee mug.

"Eh." Sakana-chan struggled, her arms seemingly tied up into a knot around the fan. "Ergh, eheh, eeeeeeh… I'm stuck."

"Woohoo! Yeah! Five thousand yen, all for me!" Diariseki-kun cheered, holding his hand up for a high five. When no one responded, he quickly high fived himself, clapping his hands together lamely. Himiko tried to hold herself together as Aki-chan calmed himself down, walking over to Sakana-chan. "Sakana. Why are your arms tangled in the ceiling fan?"

"Uhhhh… The clown looked around seemingly trying to think of an excuse before quickly giving up. "Uh… Yo… Yoshio bet me five thousand yen that I could loop my arms through the ceiling fan without getting all tangled up in it."

"Hmm. Hmm. Diariseki," The blue boy straightened up as Aki-chan turned on him. "Why did you offer that bet to Sakana?"

The bomber shrugged his shoulders, "I lost five thousand yen to one of Pocket's scams earlier, figured I'd try to make that money back somehow."

"Hmmmmmm… Hamada." The water girl jumped, looking like she was about to start crying, "Hamada, why did you break Aka's coffee mug?"

"… No."

"No?" Aki-chan rose an eyebrow.

"No. If I tell you you'll just yell at me."

Himiko put a hand over her boyfriend's mouth to stop him from answering. "Hamada-chan, if you answer the question, I promise I won't let Aki-chan yell at you."

Hamada-chan still looked a little wary, but she took a deep breath before saying, "Everyone else was breaking something, and I didn't want to feel left out, so I grabbed the first thing I found and smashed it."

"And the first thing you found was Aka-kun's coffee mug?" Himiko asked.

"Mhmm."

Himiko heard a slight cracking noise, turning to see Aki-chan was clenching his jaw with enough force to start breaking his teeth. Holding in a giggle- Ooh, the damage he could do with those teeth- she placed a hand on his arm. "Uhhh, Aki-chan? You alright?" Himiko asked her boyfriend, who had moved his hand over his face. He slowly pulled his hand away and clenched it into a tight, shaking fist.

"... 9, 10- Okay!" He perked up, seeming to have returned to normal. He turned to Aka, "Aka, send out a quick pulse, everyone is here, right?"

"They should, I don't remember anyone talking about any plans for the day."

"Okay, good, thank you. Clown." Sakana shot up straight, looping her knotted arm around and giving him a salute.

"Loopsie the Clown, reporting for duty, Shock Jockey, Sir!" She shouted.

"Get yourself together and rally the troops, we've got some…" Himimo noticed him give her a side eyed glance before sighing, "Ugh, we've got some news."

"What kind of news?"

Another side eye glance was shot her way. "The not good kind."

From there it only took about 15 minutes for the class to gather together in the common room, and as usual Himiko was surprised by just how many people were here. Yeah, sure, it was only 21 people including herself, but… She'd never really been around for stuff like this. You know, classrooms, social cliques, proper… Proper friends. She glanced to the side where Hamada was trying to use an entire bottle of glue to fix Aka Ao's coffee mug and smiled. She already had a boyfriend, and he certainly didn't seem to be going anywhere. Maybe she should focus on getting some real friends, huh?

"They're all so lively aren't they?" Himiko asked, giggling when her boyfriend looked like he wanted to slap her. The entire class had been assembled, and a good portion of them didn't seem too happy about having their days disturbed.

Aki-chan turned away from her, taking a deep breath. "Fucking SHUT UP!" The class quieted down, leaving Himiko's ears ringing. Boy, Aki-chan sure knew how to be loud, huh. "Jesus Christ, can you people not all be together in the same room without making me wish for death?!"

"Wish hard'r ya slagget!"

"Thank you for your meaningless contribution, Ainsley!" Aki-chan snapped back.

Himiko tugged on his sleeve, "Is this really the best way to tell them the news?"

He sighed, "Well it's either we rip the bandaid off now or we wait until Hamada accidentally tells the public when she freaks out when confronted by the nearest microphone."

"Well, the public will have to know eventually, why not-"

"Nedzu is a schemer. The plan didn't call for the public to know yet, so I can only assume he's trying to set it up for minimum backlash."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

"What are we whispering about?" Hamada-chan asked, squeezing her way in between them, much to Aki-chan's ire.

"Alright, fuck it, time to rip off the bandaid- Listen up jackholes!" The boy caught everyone's attention, "Toga's gonna be a hero… That is all, go- go away, that's all there is to it."

The silence that met his statement was enough to make even Himiko worried. She grabbed his hand, "Uhh… Yay! I get to… To, ya know, go to classes with all of y-"

"Hold on a fuckin' second!" Hone's voice broke through the silence, the anemic boy standing in the doorway to the kitchen, "You mean to tell me that the upper brass are actually tryin' to turn that thing into a hero? This some kinda fuckin' joke or somethin'?!"

"Do I look like the kind of person who makes jokes, like, ever?" Aki-chan responded.

"Fuck you, jackass, answer my question!" Hone moved from the doorway and pushed poor Kaisha to the side, closing in on Aki-chan.

"Fuck off, go talk to the staff about it." The cyclops shot back, holding his ground despite Ishi's weak pleas to stay calm.

"Don't fucki-"

"Boooooo!" Diariseki interrupted them, "Your bit sucks, get some new material!"

"Fuck you bitch boy!" Hone turned on the blue bomber, bone spikes beginning to peek through his skin.

Aki-chan also turned on the blue mutant, "Diariseki, your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what makes you cheer."

Himiko couldn't hold it in anymore, and doubled over laughing, drawing the ire of a few students. "Oh man, going to classes with all of you is going to be the greatest! I'll even be able to show off my moves against the rest of you!"

"Alright, now hold on." Konchu spoke up, her voice buzzing like a hive of insects. She made her way closer to the couple, a disapproving look on her face, "We put up with quite a lot from you, Shogeki Akira, far more than we reasonably should. But this is far more than justifiable. Toga Himiko is a murderer, fair and simple, and pushing for her to be a hero is madness."

"Alright bug, you don't seem to understand my angle here." A loud cacophony of buzzing and clicking came from within Konchu's body, the humanoid insect growing agitated, and her hive growing restless along with her. Aki-chan continued, "You seem to be under the impression that I 1, care about your opinion, which I don't, and 2, don't agree with you."

"Wha?" Doro popped up in between them, the mud-covered brunette smushing herself between her girlfriend and the cyclops. "Aki-chan-"

"Don't call me that."

"-But you're supposed to love and cherish your girlfriend, just like Saki loves Rika!" With that, Doro spun around and wrapped Konchu into a large bearhug. "Saki LOVES her Rika!"

"Saki, no, now is not the time!" Konchu said with a blush, "I'm trying to argue with this arrogant larvae!"

"Uh, if I can try to just, y'know, fit right in here, thank you." Totsu managed to push himself into the ever-growing pile of bodies trying to make their point, "I don't think that's the point he's making Doro-chan." He said, trying to calm everything down. "He's trying to say that it's not up to us. The principal has made his decision, so now all we can really do is help Toga learn the hero ways. Easy."

"Ah ser'sly dou' this'll werk, ah ca' nae be the only one, righ'?" Ainsley voiced his own opinion, making Himiko stomp her foot.

"That's not true, Tessy believes in me! It was his idea!"

"Tesse'?" Ainsley raised an eyebrow.

Aki-chan sighed- He's been doing that a lot today, he looks tired- "She means Tesuto."

"Of course I believe in you Toga-san. You have plenty of potential, it would be a real shame to let it go to waste." The scholarly student explained, as his girlfriend turned to him with her arms crossed.

"'Tessy'? Since when has that been a thing?" Rifuto asked.

"Oh, she's taken to calling me that lately, I thought it was quite adorable."

"Well I don't like it, so stop responding to i-"

"FOCUS PEOPLE! Come on!" Oh no, it looked like Aki-chan was beginning to reach an upper limit on his stress for the day. Maybe she could try to de-escalate the situation?

"Uh, hey, everyone! What should by hero name be? Any ideas? You all have more experience than me, so I wanna hear your ideas!" She said, trying to catch their attention. It didn't work, only managing to catch the attention of the class president, Chisana.

The healing pixie fluttered in front of Himiko, his compound, fly-like eyes studying her closely. "Hmm," He hummed before backing away, "Well, I do see what potential Nedzu-sensei may be referring to. However, as class president, I cannot allow such an obvious disgrace to hero society be allowed to join the ranks of those she has previously tried to murder!"

"As top of the class, I cannot believe you're standing against me. You're about as threatening as a cosmic brownie." Aki-chan grabbed the pixie and threw him away, grabbing everyone's attention again. "Also, I should mention that I already tried to argue against this and the rat wasn't listening. All we can do at this point is try and make sure this fails as safely as possible."

Sakana scoffed at him, "Oh come on, Shogeki, don't you have any faith in her? I mean, look," The rubber girl bounded over to Himiko and used her stretchy arms like string, puppeteering the girl like a marionette, "With us heroes pulling the strings, we can make sure she's taught all the right lessons!"

"Ooh! Make me do the Charleston!" Himiko laughed, having the time of her life as Sakana did her best to dance alongside her. Their laughs died down when they caught the look of death her boyfriend was sending their way, leaving Himiko to be dropped to the ground like a puppet without their strings.

"Alright, let me lay down the law one last time before I lose my temper." Aki-chan tried to get back to business.

"Can't lose what you never had." Uzumaki-chan said without looking up from her game. Himiko was able to notice the smallest little twitch her boyfriend's eye was able to make before he continued.

"Nedzu is making her a hero. Some of you are happy about this, some of you are optimistic, some cautious, some furious. I, personally, am in the furious category. But Nedzu doesn't want to hear any complaints. So for the love of god, just fucking help me out with this before I kill myself."

"Killing yourself would be doing the rest of us a favor fuckfa-!"

"HONE I WILL TEAR YOUR ARM OFF AND FEED IT TO TOGA!" Himiko felt herself blush at the idea if getting such a treat, but Aki-chan finally losing his temper was enough for Chisana to flitter back into the fray, the pixie doing his best to try and stomp an angry, destructive… violent… bloody fight.

"Alright, meetings over, everyone fuck off to somewhere else. Uzumaki, you stick around, I need to ask you something." Aki-chan's calm voice told her that a disaster- or party, depending on who you asked- had been avoided, leaving everyone to very quickly disperse and return to their own devices.

The red headed Uzumaki remained in her seat, eyes not looking away from her phone, "Why am I being singled out?"

"You know, you're kinda cute." Himiko spoke up, leaving the girl to glance up for a quick moment.

"I'm not into girls." Uzumaki-chan responded, her quick refusal making Himiko pout.

"What, suddenly I'm not enough for you?" Aki smirked, which caused Himiko to jab him in the ribs like she saw Miruko doing earlier.

Uzumaki-chan clicked her tongue. Maybe she was getting impatient? She looked pretty bored, so maybe- "I don't have all day, could you hurry this up?"

"Bullshit, you don't have all day. Second I turn my back you're gonna go back to practicing at some, like, fighting game thing or whatever."

"Well duh, tournament is coming up in like a week, gotta get that trophy, ya'know?" She shrugged.

"… No. I don't know."

… It seemed like Himiko was gonna have to save yet another conversation today, Aki-chan really didn't deserve her sometimes. "Sooo, Aki-chan, why did we need Uzumaki-chan again?"

He rose an eyebrow, "Why did we nee- Oh, shit, yeah. Uuuugh." He rubbed at his face again, letting out a long groan from deep inside of his chest.

"Awwww," Himiko looped their arms together, "Is baby tired?"

"Yeah, I haven't been sleeping well since the fight wi- NO!" He shoved her to the ground, "No! No, I am fine! Perfectly fine, leave me alone!"

"Yeah, I'm out of here." Uzumaki said from the doorway, trying to retreat to her room.

"No! God damnit, why can't anyone listen to me today?!"

The redhead scoffed, "Look Shogeki, I'm gonna be really real with you. I don't want anything to do with you or Toga. None of my business, you know?"

"Alright, that's perfect, I just need to buy your blood."

"Really?!" Himiko couldn't believe her ears! "Oh Aki-chan, you're the best I love you!" She flung herself at him, trying to pull him down and plant some well deserved kisses on his cheeks.

"No! God damnit, get OFF OF ME!" He tried shoving her away, but Himiko wasn't planning on making it easy on him this time!

"¥50,000."

The couple stopped fighting, turning to look at the redhead. "Excuse me?" Aki asked.

Uzumaki held up a finger, "That gets you… 1 bottle of blood."

"… The hell is your problem? ¥50,000 for a single god damn bottle?!"

"Tournament fees are expensive. You want my blood or not?"

Gritting his teeth again, Aki relented, "Fine. Come on, we'll need to go to Recovery Girl's office to get it taken."

"Let me go smoke first." Uzumaki began heading towards the door, pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

"You can't smoke before getting your blood taken, are you stupid?"

"Well, I guess you're waiting a bit then." The door closed behind her.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Stop tripping over yourself will you? I'm trying to keep us professional."

"That's easy for you to say ." Himiko grumbled, trying to keep her balance in her new body. It's been months since the last time she used her quirk, and it was taking her longer than usual to get used to Uzumaki-chan's longer limbs. Normally she'd change her body so many times in a month that getting used to the new ones were a breeze, but after going monogamous for so long, the sudden change was tripping her up a tad.

Eventually they arrived at what Aki called the Support Offices. Apparently, unless you had a deal with someone in the Support Department, you couldn't make requests directly, and had to go to the offices to file a request. Since Aki was so unlikable, and through what he had described as 'Pocket's Fuckery', he never made a deal with anyone, meaning if Himiko wanted support items and a costume, this is where she needed to go.

"So," she started, bracing herself against the wall to keep her balance, "What kind of costume will I be getting?"

"Don't worry too much about it, I'll make sure it's as cute as it is functional."

"See, you care sometimes, you thunder tsuntsun." She loved teasing him, he would always grit his teeth and try not to scream.

"I'm not a-! Ah, whatever, can't be fuckin bothered today."

She skipped ahead of him, finally getting her feet to listen to her, "Soooo, what's it gonna look like?"

"Don't know just yet, but we'll figure it out. Really I just need to get Pockets to find someone willing to make the damn thing, we can worry about designs later." He stopped suddenly and began knocking on a door to their left. He pushed it open a moment later, leading them into an empty office room. He looked around, throwing his arms up weakly, "Where the fuck is everyone?"

They walked over to one of the bigger desks, where Aki picked up a bright yellow piece of paper that seemed to stand out.

"What's it say?" Himiko asked.

"Most of the offices have been given an additional week off to prepare for an incredibly important exam taking place very soon." He explained, giving a quick summary of the apparent note.

"Odd that the support department doesn't tell people these things, isn't it?" A voice spoke up from behind them. Before they even turned around, Himiko saw how Aki crushed the paper he'd been holding in his now shaking hands. His breathing quickly became ragged as he slowly turned around with anger in his eyes.

"Kazuki." He growled, staring at the tall, tanned boy standing by the door. He didn't respond, merely holding the door open for the smaller pale woman to walk into the room behind him.

"Hello Shogeki, how have you been?" The newcomer- Kazuki apparently, eh, the name was fitting- greeted, which, for whatever reason, only seemed to infuriate Aki even further.

"Kazuki you motherfucking son of a BITCH!" It seemed like all of his pent up anger from earlier suddenly boiled over as he stomped towards the taller boy. While Aki took the time to start screaming- Oh he looks so hot with his face all angry and red like that, mmph!- Himiko took the chance to sidle up next to the only other woman in the room, who had been watching the altercation with rapt attention. "Hiya!" She greeted,with a smile- Heroes should always be smiling, that's something Stainy preached about, wasn't it?

The woman ignored her, keeping watch and waiting to see if the fight would escalate any further than where it already was.

"Sooooo," Himiko tried again, brushing her disguised red hair out of her eyes, "How many times have you stabbed your boyfriend?"

"I'll have to inform you that you are mistaken. Kazuki-san is not my boyfriend." Her voice was cold and spoke of little patience. That was weird, what she said though. The fanged doppelganger could have sworn she smelled love in the air, but maybe she was just smelling herself. Himiko figured she'd probably back off, after all, it wouldn't look good if she was causing trouble on her first day of school, right?

"I've already stabbed my boyfriend twice." She giggled, cupping her reddening cheeks, "He didn't bleed the first time, but the second time I managed to get him in the arm with a screwdriver that had a rubber handle. Ooooh, he was so mad at me, just remembering it sends shivers up my spine!"

This seemed to have caught the other woman's attention, finally moving her chilling eyes to stare at blonde-turned-ginger girl. "I don't quite believe I caught that properly, would you mind re-"

"I heard a rumor once-" Himiko whispered, leaning into the woman's face, grabbing her hands and holding them in her own, "It said that if you stab a boy three times, they propose to you!" She squealed, bouncing on her feet. Her face felt flush, and she felt out of breath, but she just couldn't help herself! She was so close to getting her happy ever after, and she wanted to talk to other girls about it! Hamada-chan got jealous when Himiko brought up her boyfriend, and Sakana-chan always seemed awkward. None of the other girls really talked to Himiko, so who was she supposed to gossip with?!

"… If I may, I would like to see your student ID." The woman said, moving her hands to clasp Himiko's own, reversing their previous position. "I'm surprised such a … unique individual such as yourself had managed to avoid my eyes for so long. I'd like to know your name. We may just share some, let's say common interests."

"Oh! Sure!" Himiko reached into her pocket, trying to find the little plastic card that the tasty stuffed animal gave her earlier. She held it out for the other woman to take, but both her hand and the card were suddenly swallowed up by Aki's much larger hand.

"Can I not fucking look away from you for 2 minutes, Uzumaki?" He breathed, his voice slightly raspy. He must have been close to screaming himself hoarse. He then turned to the other girl and shoved her back, "Do me a favor and stay in your lane, gi-"

"Apologize immediately, Shogeki." The taller student from before had rushed over, pushing Himiko to the side and roughly grabbing onto Aki's shirt.

"God damnit, I get that you probably don't want to hold onto your purity forever, Kazuki, but you could not be making your stupid 'White Knight' schtick any more obvious. Trust me, it doesn't make you look any more fuckable than you already aren't."

"She has higher standards than that." Kazuki responded without hesitation.

Himiko felt a sharp pain somewhere in her chest, and the feeling seemed to have been shared with her Aki, who let out an audible wince.

"Oooooh," He hissed, "Oohoh, ow, really? You're gonna kick yourself in the dick like that?"

The other girl suddenly snapped her fingers, "Now I remember, the red hair and the glasses, I very much should have recognized you sooner. You must be Uzumaki Ume, the telekinesis hero student." It took Himiko a few seconds to remember about her disguise, but she eventually nodded slowly. The girl clapped her hands together, "Well, I very much apologize for not recognizing you sooner. I am Saito Yui, Class 2-I, top of the class."

"Quit your shit girl, no you're not." Aki interrupted her, "Pockets is at the top of 2-I."

"… Would you happen to be referring to Okane Yashin?"

"Yes, that dumbass, sticky fingered dirtbag, he's kind of hard to forget once you meet him."

"Um… Okane-san isn't in 2-I, he's top of the class in 2-J." Saito clarified.

"What?! That lying bastard, that's the only reason I ever bothered signing that stupid fucking contract of his!"

"Ignoring him," Saito said, placing a soft hand on Himiko's shoulder, "I don't believe you've been involved with an internship this year, have you Uzumaki-chan?"

She shook her head, "Not that I'm aware of, nope."

"Well, if that's the case, then I doubt that a long ranged fighter such as yourself has managed to get into a training accident severe enough as to damage your entire hero costume."

"Uhh… Yesss?"

The woman suddenly grabbed her shoulder tightly as her kind gaze sharpened, "Well then, in that case, why would you be coming to the support department looking for an entire suit to be made, hmm?"

"I- I just wanted a change of pace is all." Himiko lied, trying to signal Aki to help her get out of this situation. She didn't think this lady was that cute anymore, not one bit!

"And why would you be here with Shogeki of all people?" Saito pressed on, "His fighting style and mannerisms have screamed 'Lone Wolf' since his first Sports Festival. For him to suddenly have a change of heart of that magnitude, well, I can't help but feel the slightest bit suspicious."

"I've… been having some money troubles, and, Shogeki-san-" God that felt weird to say, blech- "is helping me find a good design without it being too pricey…?"

"Oh? Well, isn't that so very kind of him?" She leaned her face until her nose was almost touching Himiko's "It's so weird, but last I checked, Shogeki Akira was far from being a kind and caring soul."

"I've been working on that, believe it or not." Oh thank the lords above, Aki-chan to the rescue.

Wait what?

"Wait what, you have?" She glanced over to him, "I thought you were being weirdly civil today."

"'Civil' isn't really the word I'd use, more like 'Tolerant' but yes. I have been trying. Not hard mind you but y'know, effort is effort."

Kazuki rose an eyebrow, "That's rather admi-"

"I don't remember asking for your fucking opinion, Kazuki!" Ah, there's her angry boyfriend again, she rather missed him for those brief few seconds.

Saito cleared her throat. "Well Uzumaki-chan, if you're looking for a job for some additional funds, I suppose I could-"

"Fuck off, lady." Aki cut her off- so assertive!- before jabbing his thumb towards the door. "I'm taking care of this one, and if I'm ever in a rut, a real rut, I'll hunt down Pockets. That scumbag has more back alley deals going on than a proper crime lord."

The door to the support offices were suddenly kicked down, a lanky, frantic boy running inside. He scrambled over to them, almost touching Himiko on his way over, making her shy away from his gross hands. Did he never wash them, it looked like they were caked in glue!

"I heard people talking about money! Where is it?!"

"POCKETS!" Aki-chan yelled, which, ow, but he suddenly shoved her aside to begin chasing after this new weirdo.

…

It kind of feels like Aki-chan attracts all of the weirdos around him.

"Uzumaki," Oh, that's her! "This is my… Agent, Pockets. Please give him as much trouble as you can."

"You know, I try my best to help you out as much as I can, Shogeki." The green haired, pointy-eared "agent" countered, "I got that costume redesign from the blue guy, although I wanted to run it by you for a final confirmation."

"Yeah, sure, just hurry this up, I'm in the middle of-"

"Hey, wait a minute, what's up with your eye?" Himiko watched him poke Aki's eyepatch, causing her favorite electrical outlet to wince in pain. Pockets glanced at Himiko, who pouted- Uzumaki had both of her eyes, meaning she had to leave behind her eyepatch- The cute one that matched with Aki's own. It wasn't fair! She wants them to be cute together! "I don't remember you being all inta fashion trends and what have you? What made you start?"

"Getting my eye destroyed through immolation, now do you have my fuckin' suit or not?"

"Oh!" Pockets cleared his throat, pulling out a piece of paper from his jacket pocket. "Now, before we get onto business, I figured I'd give you that costume draft you've been dying to get your hands on." He tossed the paper to Himiko, who opened it up, her eyes going wide.

"Ooooh," She felt her cheeks flush again, "I think I've just gotten a taste for men in uniforms, rawr."

"Give me that you perv." Her boyfriend stole the paper from her, "Fuckin, can't get your head into gear for 2- God damn."

Art by mcharltonq on Instagram, go check them out!

Aki-chan gave a soft whistle, "Remind me to hire Diariseki more often. I can get him to draw up your costume."

"Uh huh," Himiko nodded, "I'd bet he'd make me look so hot."

"Hmm. I mean he's not a miracle worker but- guh! What is with everyone and jabbing me today, stop it!"

"Make me~"

"… Since when were you two fuckin'?" Pockets asked, raising an eyebrow, "Last time I checked, you weren't exactly too cool with any of the ladies in your class, Shogeki."

"It's, ugh." Aki pinched the bridge of his nose, "Look, it's complicated, I'll fill you in some other time."

"Oh, Okane-san, if you have a moment? I have something that might interest a money-loving grub such as yourself." Himiko looked away from the picture of Aki's new costume to see Saito snap her fingers, Kazuki responding by opening the briefcase he had been carrying. She rifled around inside and pulled out a thick stack of papers, passing them off to the other businessman. "This is a small proposition I came up with after the last time our clients had a little spat between them." She said, watching as the conman flipped through the papers.

"'Little spat' my ass, last time that jackass and I were in the same room I'm pretty sure it exploded." Aki said, marking down a few notes on the costume blueprint.

"Only because you lack something that my Kazuki has in spades- Restraint. You lose your self control far too-"

"Easily, yeah, you sound like my grandfather." He frowned, turning to his agent, "What the fuck does she got you lookin' through?"

"One hell of an offer." Pockets mumbled to himself, "Just- Just give me a minute to look this over."

Saito-chan held up a patient hand, "Please, please, take your time Okane-san." She snapped her fingers again, signalling Kazuki to follow her over to the other side of the support offices.

Himiko tried peeking over Pockets' shoulder, but he was resolute in hiding it from her. "Yo, Shogeki, you're gonna wanna hear about this. Saito is trying to set up a god damn cage match between you and Kazuki."

"… A fuckin' what?!" He tore his eyes away from the picture, looking at his agent with disbelief. "Is she trying to set us up to kill each other?"

"Seems like." The elf-eared conman nodded, "Damn, the connections she's gotten written down here would make a Yaoyarozu cry, hot hell."

Himiko's eyes lit up, oh how fun! Aki-chan, beaten and bloody like he was when they danced themselves to sleep. Covered in blood, beating someone to the ground, standing over them as his body glistened with beautiful, sweet sweat- "Ow!" She rubbed the back of her head, Aki's sudden smack bringing her out of her daydreams. Today has been full of a lot of those.

"Look, this entire cage match shit sounds ridiculous, I'm not signing that contract." Aki said, going back to the costume sketch. What was he writing on it? Maybe his measurements- OH! She'd have to get those if she wanted to make him some nice gloves for the winter.

"… Alright, this seems like one of those things I'm not gonna be able to trick you into going along with."

"Hell the fuck no it isn't. Now go find me a support student to make Uzumaki's suit."

"Alright, I'll go ask my girl if she's busy. Probably is, but I'm sure a few nice words here and there and Mei'll sweeten up to me like always." The conman winked at Himiko and shot her fingerguns, leaving her to scoff as he walked into the other room.

"How do you think it'll go, Aki-chan?" She asked her boyfriend, glancing at the sketch. She'd been right, he was marking down his measurements.

"Well, this is Pockets we're talking about, I assume he'll reach either total success or total failure in his endeavors." He said, writing down the last few numbers.

"Hey babe!" They heard Pockets' voice call out, before a loud, booming explosion rocked the floor beneath their feet. Pockets flew through the doors and back into the support offices, crashing into one of the desks. His clothes were coated in soot and his right sleeve was somehow on fire. He coughed, patting out the fire and getting to his feet. "She's good to start whenever." He coughed, giving a weak thumbs up.

"… Riiiight…" Toga nodded her head, hearing her partner sigh beside her.

"So," Aki folded the paper back up, seemingly ignoring the situation and handing the sketch over to this Pockets guy once again, "When am I getting my new costume? I mean, not like I'll be using it much outside of class for the time being, but still. I'd like to at least have it on hand."

"Well, I'll be able to get it to you… Eh, let's say a week after you get a haircu-"

"Not happening."

"Shogeki just cut your fucking hair, you're starting to look like a street rat! I'm sorry for yelling." The skinny boy backed down quickly under the combined annoyed look from the couple. She rather liked Aki's long hair, it was soft. She enjoyed combing her fingers through it while he pretended to sleep.

"Look," Aki sighed, running his hand through the topic of their current conversation, "I very much don't enjoy the whole 'DNA infused clothing' thing. I think it's gross. It took me more than a full year to grow it back out after the last time I had to cut it. You've got enough cloth to make this costume, right?"

"Just barely. There's a new method for infusion going around lately that's a bit experimental. Supposedly, once it gets perfected it'll be able to make the same amount of cloth with only 90% of the DNA it would normally require. Thing is, it's pricey, and your contract doesn't account for experimental methods."

"So, it's either cut my hair-"

"Or pay out of pocket." The agent finished, rubbing his fingers together in the universal sign for cash.

"God damnit, I don't have that kind of money. That kind of stuff is normally handled by the hero agencies, but they're being a bunch of cunts." He sighed, scratching his head in thought, "Dad and Sir are still covering Sir's hospital bill and I can't take money from them. Miruko somehow froze my bank account last Tuesday when I wouldn't laugh at her joke in a meeting with Fatgum. Fuck."

"Hmm, am I hearing that correctly, worm?" They both turned away from the slimy man and towards the returning Saito-chan, who's eyes now pierced through Himiko like a hawk. "Is the little hero student hurting for cash?" Her smirk grew as she took her suitcase back from Kazuki, opening it and fishing out the contract from earlier. She dangled it in front of him, "Sounds like a little worm is suddenly in a bit of a tough spot~" She sang, taunting him.

Ooooh, this bitch.

"Ahem." Himiko stood between them, crossing her arms. "It's very rude and impolite to eavesdrop."

"Oh, I very much apologize, Uzumaki-chan," Himiko stiffened up, Saito-chan's tone made it clear that she knew something was up. Aki seemed more irritated than earlier, and that Kazuki almost looked ready to fight should things get dirty.

Pockets didn't seem to like this situation very much. "Alright Shogeki, let's think about this for a minute. We both know that I'd kill a man to get at the amount of money you would rake in with a cage match."

"With everything I've heard about you, I'm kind of surprised you haven't?" Himiko cut in. The smile Pockets sent her way only made her more creeped out by him.

"But this is Saito Yui who wrote up this deal. I could spend weeks agonizing over this thing for loopholes and come up short. So if you're really gonna take this deal, I'm not gonna be able to help you back out."

Himiko looked at the girl from across the room. "You're gonna take the offer aren't you, Aki-chan?"

"… Not much of a choice, now is there?" He waved them over, snapping his fingers at Pockets, "Give me a fuckin' pen, will ya?"

A moment later and the deal was made, Saito scrunching up her nose as shook Pockets' glue covered hands while Aki slapped away Kazuki's offered hand. Without much more fanfare the duo left. Once they were gone, Aki wrote up a quick note and left it on one of the desks and they made their leave themselves.

"Hey, Aki-chan, why do you hate Kazuki-kun so much?" Himiko asked. His response was a series of low, grumbles that she couldn't quite make out.

Pockets scoffed from his place following behind them, face glued to his phone, "Are you really still that pissed off over something like that? Man, grow up, you need to let that shit go."

She looked at him over his shoulder, "Why, what happened?"

"Surprised you don't remember Uzumaki." Damn, how does she keep forgetting about her disguise? "Last year your class had a joint training session with that year's Class 1-B. Of course, Kazuki was the top of his class back then just as he is now. Our shocking friend here didn't know that Kazuki's quirk also increases his endurance and durability, not just his strength, so when Shogeki went to punch him in the face, he failed to compensate and broke the hell out of his right hand."

"Bastard knew exactly what he was doing, fuckin' playin' me." Her boyfriend grumbled from beside her.

"Dude, he tricked you fair and square. Seriously, loosen up your jock strap, you're taking this way too personally."

"I'll stop taking this personally when he's dead in a ditch full of heroin needles."

Pockets' hands flew to his head, "Jesus… Christ, ain't that a bit extreme?!"

"I thought that was pretty tame, actually." Himiko shrugged.

The conman stared at her bug eyed, before shaking his head and turning down a corner. Clearly he didn't want to be around them anymore today.

But boy, today had been so exciting! She gets to be a hero, she gets to use her quirk again, and she even gets to join a school again! School clubs, field trips, festivals! She'd finally get her chance to be a part of it all!

Oh, wait!

She skipped ahead of her boyfriend before she spun around, standing in front of him. Himiko took a deep breath, bowing slightly, "Please take care of me, Kira-kun."

She noticed how his body language changed just a bit. He gave a soft smile, one he thought she didn't take notice of. "Well, it's about time you call me a decent name." He gave her a bow of his own, before standing up and raising his hands, "Alright, enough of that, back to work. We still need to think up a new name to match your new costume."

"Oooh! Kitty!"

"I said it has to match your costume, let's wait until we get that before we decide on anything." She pouted, before skipping ahead of him once again.

"Sunshine!"

"Taken."

"Mad Girl?"

"Too close to Diariseki's."

"Harlequin?"

"Fuck off with that clown shit!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Both Kazuki and Saito are characters created by BlackJoker/NaturesStressBall. Go check them out, they do good shit.

A/N- Really quick, I wanted to address a slight change in the format I will be using for this story. Starting here, with chapter 10, I will be using an Arc system to keep track of things. The names of these Arcs will be various puns that I am able to come up with, as I am easily amused.

As a side note, please feel free to DM me, or leave a comment, if you wish to join the Discord server that I moderate for. We're always looking for new people to join in on discussions, character interactions, or to see artwork of the various characters in this story earlier than when I post chapters.


	11. Underground Champion Part 2

_**Easy Lover~**_

_**She'll get a hold on you, believe it~**_

_**Like no other~**_

_**Before you know it you'll be on your knees~**_

_**She's an Easy Lover~**_

_**She'll take your heart, but you won't feel it~**_

"God damnit, Himiko…" Akira groaned out, pawing to find his phone. His normal slow and quiet ringtone had recently been changed to the loud and obnoxious funk song by a certain blonde girl. As such, she now found tremendous joy in using the cheap cell phone provided to her by the school to call him at all hours of the day, knowing he kept his ringer on max in case Miruko needed to contact him.

Finally finding where his phone was, somehow it had ended up underneath a pillow, he raised it to his ear, pressing the bright green button to answer. He didn't say anything into the receiver, but he heard a very familiar giggling sound. The same sound that he heard on the other side of his room. He hung up and dropped both his phone and his head back onto the bed, trying desperately to get some more rest.

A weight suddenly appeared on his back, clearly telling him that Himiko was trying to wake him up by force by this point. When she had gotten into his room was beyond him, but he's learned over the last few days that nothing short of electromagnetic locks can keep her out. She laid on top of him, her cheek pressed into his upper back and her legs kicking the air. She prodded his face with a sharp finger, poking at his jaw, "Ooooh, someone has _stubble~_" She sang, rolling off of his back and next to him on the bed. He kept his good eye closed, trying and failing to hold on to the fleeting embrace of sleep as she continued to poke at him.

"I'm 17, puberty has long since passed. I grow facial hair, I shave it." He mumbled into his pillow, receiving a soft, airy giggle in response.

Himiko's captivity had come to an end, in a way. A few tracking chips had been implanted in her spine, courtesy of the combined efforts of Power Loader and Recovery Girl. She was aware of one of them, but there were 3 additional chips that only Akira knew about. His room and all of it's added security features had been returned to its original state from before she had been brought to the school. Officially, she was still under his careful supervision, although unofficially his role as _warden_ had been changed to _instructor_. While the class as a whole would be working towards her reeducation and further redemption, responsibility ultimately fell to him to make sure she was progressing in accordance with Nedzu's schedule. The rat had said something about trust, and that they should trust the blonde to do the right thing without constant supervision.

Miruko had called him later on that day, saying that Nedzu had hired Beta Man from the agency to work security for the school. The older hero might not have been much in the combat department, but he was unmatched when it came to surveillance. He guessed that the "trust" that was being placed on the girl was a trick, to see how she acts when she thinks she's being watched constantly.

Later today, he'd be helping her move some basic furniture into her own room on the girl's side of the dorms. She must be trying to get as much affection from him as she could manage before their shared living experience comes to a close. He could sympathize, for once. She's getting closer and closer to a more normal life, or at least one that was more normal than her previous life. For as much of her old self that remained- That cold blooded, psychopathic killer was still inside of her, being held at bay by medication and weekly therapy sessions- She was beginning to turn into a more average hero student. Come his 3rd year at the school, she would be officially joining the class as the 21st student of the future 3-A.

She was healing, slowly. She was growing, finding friends for herself, picking up a hobby or two as they were shown to her. Ainsley had been helping her learn how to cook full meals, Diariseki had given her a few pointers when it came to sketching other people. Akira would admit, she was getting pretty good at both.

He was impressed enough to say as much one day, when they were alone. Her therapy session that day had run long, far longer than ever before. When they got back, most of the others had gone to bed, and she decided to cook up a late dinner for them both.

"This is pretty damn good." He had said, swallowing a mouthful of penne. Italian wasn't exactly a favorite of his, nor was this white cheesy sauce towards the top of his list, but all the same, he was properly impressed.

She blushed, dropping her fork with a clatter as she balled up her sleeves of her cardigan. "See! I told you I'm a great cook, but a certain battery loves to make fun of me!"

He scoffed, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Don't try and act like a small part of you doesn't enjoy my teasing."

"Maaaaaybe~" She leaned over the table, excitement in her eyes, "But! If I want to be a good wife, then I need to be the best cook I can be for you!"

That little interaction had been a few nights ago, and he still couldn't stop thinking about it. Why, all of a sudden, was he worrying over her desire to marry him? She'd made similar claims ever since she'd first met him, long before he became receptive in whatever weird relationship they had.

What did she mean to him?

What did he feel for her?

He won't lie, he wasn't entirely sure. Part of him had resigned himself to his fate- Odds are, this would be the crazy woman he falls in love with, marries, has a child with, only for tragedy to strike and for her to leave him as a single father. That's what had happened to his father, and his grandfather, and his great-grandfather. 5 generations of his family, facing the same pattern of abandonment, of loss. Akira wasn't exactly hopeful that the cycle would miraculously end on him, so he'd been tempering his expectations for the future.

But that still left the question of the present. What did he feel for this broken, lovesick girl?

He cracked his eye open to see her staring back at him, her golden eye almost glowing in the faint light that came in through the newly replaced window. She had a hand at his cheek, caressing his face, a smile softer than any he has seen in his life on her face.

"Hi." She whispered, so quietly he almost didn't hear her.

"... Hey." He mumbled back, just as softly. He watched her scoot forward closer to him, until he could feel her breath on his face.

"How come you shave?" Himiko asked suddenly, her fingernails helping her to lightly tug on the small hairs covering his cheeks and jaw.

"School rules, males need to be clean shaven."

"I think you'd look cute with a beard." Himiko leaned forward, planting a soft kiss right above his lips, almost next to his nose.

Himiko.

When did he start using her first name?

Himiko rolled off of the bed, grabbing his hand and beginning to pull. "Come on, lazy butt, we have stuff to do today!"

He let her pull him into a sitting position, purposely leaning back and making her work for it. She struggled a bit, but managed all the same. Once she got him up, she used her socks to slowly slide her legs under his bed, leaving her with her chin resting on his mattress. She gave him a big, giant smile, watching him climb out of bed and move over to his closet.

"One of these days you're gonna need to help me bring back all of the shit I stored at my Pop's place." He told her as he shifted through his clothes. He had that interview with Diariseki's sister that morning, in about 2 hours, at some small coffee shop or whatever that she had found. It met both of their needs- it was a calm and relaxed environment, perfect for conducting a long form interview. At the same time, it was a public setting close to a major street and not too far from a hero agency, making it a _terrible _spot to set up a potential trap.

Keeping his thoughts on the interview in the back of his mind, he decided to try and at least look semi decent for the occasion. Nothing as special as when he "went to church" the month before, but a simple dress shirt and slacks were a large improvement over his normal wardrobe. He glanced o-

"Stop taking pictures!" His sudden outburst started her, making her drop her phone with a clatter. She hurriedly picked it back up, holding it away from him as he tried to take it.

"Noooo, stop! You have such a cute butt though!" She whined, breaking away and running out of the room, standing in the hallway with and sticking her tongue out at him. He sighed, grabbing his bag and slinging it on his back, walking out of thei- _his_ room and locking it behind him.

They walked down the stairs and into the common room, where a few of the other classmates were lazing around. It was a weekend, naturally, and most of the dorm's inhabitants were sleeping in. A group of boys, it would seem to be Diariseki, Aka, and that bastard Hone were hanging around in the kitchen. Himiko skipped off to the couch, where the damn clown was applying her ridiculous make-up. Shogeki let her go, deciding to try and play along, moving into the kitchen to grab himself some coffee. Or tea, whichever he ended up finding first. Preferably tea.

"- Doro is _definitely_ kuudere," Was the sentence Shogeki was unfortunately greeted with when entering the kitchen. Diariseki seemed to have been in the middle of his breakfast when the discussion had begun, judging by half eaten bowl of cereal. Aka appeared to be enjoying his usual morning cup of tea while Hone was eating a bowl of oatmeal and downing a jug of milk like usual. As disgusting as it was to watch the scarred boy chug milk like it was water, it was what kept Hone's quirk strong, and Shogeki wouldn't argue with good logic. Diariseki, too deep into the discussion to let Shogeki's entrance stop him it would seem, went ahead and presented his evidence of his claim, "I mean, have you seen how Doro is around Konchu? You practically have to tear them apart, she's so clingy."

"Ah, but Diariseki-san, is it really being clingy when your partner is so receptive?" Aka politely countered, as Shogeki opened the cabinets. He took a quick look before slamming it shut and turning to the group.

"Aka, what are you drinking?"

The blind student took a moment to look sorrowful, "Not tea I'm afraid, my friend. We were all out of the usual brand- an odd thing, that is. I could have sworn we had a few more packets before we had to replace the box."

"Alright, that- that doesn't answer my question though."

"Oh! Right, quite right," Aka held up his mug, "I had brewed a pot of coffee about an hour ago- While I would have rightfully prefered my usual breakfast ritual, I still needed the caffeine, it would seem. You might want to brew a fresh pot, however, the one currently sitting in the machine is quite-"

"Old, I get it." Shogeki dumped out the old coffee into the sink, quickly setting up the machine to start brewing a new pot. He got down 2 coffee mugs, figuring that if he's going through the trouble he might as well make Himiko a mug. Though she takes hers with more milk and sugar than actual coffee, he figured it couldn't hurt. Plus, she'd essentially stolen his favorite mug by this point, so who really cared in the end.

"The blonde is a yandere, fuckin' clearly." Hone growled, "I really don't think there's gonna be any disagreement there."

"True," Diariseki nodded, "Now, Sakana, she's-" He coughed, "She's uh, um, bubadah, d-deredere, right?"

"I could agree with that." Aka sipped at his coffee.

"She's not a yandere…" Shogeki mumbled under his breath, putting the lid back onto the jar of sugar. He stirred it into his coffee, trying to clear the last of his drowsiness with a small shake of his head.

"Oh, what was that, Shogeki-san?" Aka asked from the other side of the kitchen. The rest of the boys turned to look, Diariseki himself looking pretty smug that they had somehow managed to rope Shogeki into their stupid conversation.

Rubbing his eyes, he replied, "I said she's not a yandere."

The blue bomber's eyes went wide, "Wha- Hu- _She's not a yandere?_" He said, getting up from his seat, "You are saying that Toga Himiko, known serial killer and psychopath… _Is not a yandere?_"

Shogeki said nothing, turning back to the jar of sugar and putting it away in one of the cabinets.

"Hey!" Hone slammed a fist onto the table, "We're fuckin' talkin' to ya, jackass! Fuckin' answer someone when they ask you a quest-!"

"Yes, that is what I said." Shogeki relented. There was no escaping this anymore, he should have just kept his mouth shut.

"Alright, alright, alright alright alright," Diariseki said, moving away from the table and closer to the cyclops, "So… _She's not a yandere, huh?_"

"… No."

"Oh- oh, she isn't?" Diariseki looked around theatrically, playing up his shock and surprise, "Oh, sh-she's not a yandere. Oh, I-I could have _sworn_ that she was a yandere, I mean, what- what else could she have bee- What would _you _say she is, Shogeki?"

"She's a, um…" He lifted his cup of coffee to his lips, trying desperately to think of something, "Uhm… She is a babe… blade…"

"… Hmm?" Diariseki turned his head, aiming his ear towards Shogeki, "I do- sorry, I'm so sorry, but I really don't think I heard you, could- could you repeat that for me?"

Shogeki took a loud sip of his coffee. The others at the table were now staring at him, total silence hanging over the kitchen.

"I really don't think I heard you right- You just called Toga Himiko a-" Diariseki pulled out a small notepad from his pocket, flipping through the pages as he pretended to search for a quote he'd never written down, "You called her a, quote, 'a Babe-blade', unquote, is this correct?"

"… That is correct, yes."

The silence within the kitchen was unbearable to him, no one was moving. Shogeki wasn't sure anyone was even breathing. He noticed that Aka squinted his eyes after about 30 seconds of this, turning his head this way and that in confusion.

"Wait, I'm sorry, what- Did everyone leave, what happened?" The blind student must have activated his quirk, a vein in his neck bulging for a second before it vanished again, "… Oh, there you all are."

"… I'm leaving now." Shogeki walked out of the kitchen with the mugs, heading into the living room. He sat down on one of the love seats, doing his best to ignore whatever conversation-

"Baby, what do you think? Would you say I'm a yandere?"

"Wha- Why is everyone having this conversation?" Shogeki asked, grunting softly when Himiko sat on his lap. She took her coffee from him, leaning into him as she took a loud sip.

"Just answer the question, Shogeki Akira." Konchu buzzed, not looking away from her action of brushing Doro's hair. The dirty brunette had just woken up, and sat on the floor in front of the couch, eyes closed and seemingly fast asleep while the insect-like Konchu tended to the tangled mess of hair on Doro's head.

"Why is this even a conversation you care about, Bug?" He asked, smirking at her reaction. Just as Konchu began to well and truly seethe in anger, Himiko reached up and pinched his cheek.

"Kira-kun, be nice to my friends, I'm nice to yours." She said, tone stern as he smacked her hand away.

Konchu seemed to have opened her mouth to argue Himiko's statement- The mutant was still a fervent critic of Nedzu's decision to bring her into the class- but before she could say anything Doro suddenly perked up, sleepy eyes now wide and alert as she smiled so crazily that even Moonfish would have flinched. Hands at her sides, she stood up, hunched over as are fingers curled inwards like claws.

"Toga-_chan_." She said, an edge to the girl's voice as she stalked closer, "Toga-_chan_. Toga-_chan_. Toga-_chan_. _Toga-chan! Toga-chan! Toga-chan! TOGA-CHAN! TOGA-CHAN!_"

"Fucking get on with it, girl!" Shogeki had to yell at Doro as she now stood directly in front of them, screaming her chant of Himiko's name. Her eyes had gone so wide that Himiko thought her eyeballs would pop out, and her pupils had been reduced to the smallest pinpricks the blonde had ever seen. The chanting had come to a sudden stop when Shogeki had yelled out, and Doro merely stared into Himiko's eyes for a few moments before she suddenly seized the girl's arms, pulling Himiko into a fierce bearhug and spilling Himiko's coffee onto the carpet.

"Toga-chan says Saki is her frieeeeeeeeend!" Doro cried out, roughly shaking Himiko around in her grasp, "Toga-chan likes Saki so much- Saki _looooooooooves_ Toga-chan! She does! She does! Saki loves Toga-chan!"

"Oooh, Saki, why must you always be this way?!"

"God damnit you moron, can't you ever let me have a nice day?!"

Konchu and Shogeki tried to separate their partner's, fighting against Doro's strange, farm-bred gorilla strength as they tried to pull Himiko free from her death hug. Sooner or later they managed, and Doro returned to her favorite pastime- peppering Konchu's face with a flurry of kisses. The yellow bug sighed, antennae falling as she resigned herself to her fate. Shogeki, morning now thoroughly ruined and more than a bit annoyed, decided he was done.

"Let's go, girl." He said, making his way over to the coat closet, "We'll just take the bus to kill the extra time, can't even enjoy a goddamn cup of coffee in this place."

"Saki looooooves you, Aki-chan!" Doro called out, using her entire arm to wave goodbye.

"STOP FUCKING CALLING ME THAT!" Himiko had to push her boyfriend out of the door, pulling out a small vial of Uzumaki's blood to disguise herself on their day out. Shogeki took a few deep breaths again, trying to use the same trick as before to bring his anger under control. He pulled on his coat, hoping against all hope that he'd keep himself under control today.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I swear to god, I can not get my driver's license fast enough." Shogeki muttered, stepping off of the bus. Himiko herself jumped off the bus, latching her arms around his neck and trying to get him to give her a piggyback ride. He quickly shrugged her off, leaving her to sadly trudge along beside him. She was once again donning her Uzumaki disguise, and was beginning to really nail the moody girl's behavior patterns- when she bothered to stay in character, at least. She had borrowed a bit of Uzumaki's wardrobe for this occasion, and seemed to be having fun with the basic sweatpants and oversized hoodie that _desperately_ needed to be washed.

She had behaved surprisingly well on the bus, keeping her head down and making quiet conversation with him during their ride. There was a small incident when they had to get off of one bus to hop onto another- during their wait, she had thought it would be a great idea to offer a nearby child some candy, probably something she found hidden in the pockets of the borrowed sweatshirt she wore. Clearly, Himiko had never been given the "stranger danger" conversation as a child, which could actually go a long way at explaining her behavior. The mother of the child had been quite upset, and it was only after Shogeki convinced her that he was a hero student did she abandon her desire to call the cops on them.

"Alright, here's the place." Shogeki said after a few minutes of them walking. Himiko looked up, her eyes landing on a small, family owned coffee shop or something, where Shogeki was to have his little interview with Diariseki's older sister, Kizuki Chitose. Some big name journalist in Deika city before it went to total shit. He'd tried to ask Miruko about it in passing but she'd kept her loud mouth shut for once. That was enough to tell him that she probably _couldn't_ speak about it, and any further questions would only piss her off.

"Alright, what's the plan?" Himiko bounced beside him, her excited expression looking unnerving on Uzumaki's face.

"Well, step one is for you to turn around." She nodded, spinning in place and facing away from the quaint little cafe.

"What's next, Shock Jockey?" She asked, making him raise an eyebrow. There was no way this was actually working.

"Next, you're gonna walk straight forward."

"Alright, and after that?"

"Once you start walking, keep walking until I call your phone. Then, we'll go home."

"… You just don't want me around for your interview!" She cried, stomping her feet. A few passersby glanced towards them, becoming aware of the scene she was making.

"Of course I don't, this is work! Miruko is such a fucking plague unto her own reputation, it's up to her sidekicks and her interns to keep her in a good light."

"If that's the case then why even bring me?!"

"Because I-" He suddenly turned away from her and crossed his arms. "Just get walking, girl, I call you in a bit."

Himiko glared at him for a second, before realization dawned on her face and her lips curved upwards. "Aww, did Kira-kun just want to spend time with me~?"

"Not in the slightest." He grumbled, "Now quit breaking character, Uzumaki will throw a fit if she sees you being all happy and shit with her body."

"Fine, if ya wanna act like a preschooler then you'll get treated like one, jackass." Himiko scoffed, swiftly shifting her demeanor to mimic that of the redhead who had donated blood. She started rifling through her pockets, before she dropped the act again. "Oh no, I don't have any cigarettes."

"Don't actually smoke, that's going too far."

"Ugh, _fiiiine_." She spun around, throwing a playful wink his way, "I'm gonna go find us a place to have a cute little date when you're done! Bye bye, Kira-kun!" Himiko walked off with that, leaving him alone to do his job. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. His interview hadn't even started yet and it was already draining him of his life essence.

It was with a deep, tired sigh that Shogeki straightened his back, rolled his shoulders and walked towards the door of the cafe, his patience already being tested my stupid little bell that sounded when he pushed open the door. The cafe seemed to be family owned, if the family photos covering the walls meant anything. There were some younger couples here and there spread out among the tables, a-

"Ah! Shock Jockey, over here!" The call caught his attention, having to turn his whole head to be able to see her sitting at a table to his left. He hadn't been able to go out as a hero since the Dabi incident, so his more serious injuries were kept a secret and away from the small group of _annoying _fans he had. Shogeki assumed Diariseki must have sent her a picture to know who to look for.

The student walked over to the small table she had picked out, set up halfway between the door and the left wall of the cafe. The large window that was decorated with the cafe's name was to their left, letting in plenty of sunlight from outside. It was getting to be about mid January by now, and the weather was slowly improving. The sky was sunnier more often, and while it was still quite cold, there hadn't been too much snow to worry about. He'd have to ask his father about planning a fishing trip or something once spring came around, it would be nice to get away and relax a bit.

"Hello!" A waitress had popped up by their table so suddenly that it made Shogeki jump in surprise, "I'll be your server today, is there anything I can get for you two?"

"Go ahead and order somethin' for yourself, Jockey, my treat." The reporter offered, nudging her head towards the waitress.

"Uh, just some black tea is fine, thank you. Honey on the side." He responded, trying to relax. He could actually feel how tense he was, and it was starting to cause him some pain in his back. He was getting a bad feeling in his stomach, like a dark pit was swallowing up his organs from the inside. His paranoia was starting to be more annoying than helpful. He gazed over to the blue skinned woman on the other side of the table, "So, uh…"

"Kizuki, Kizuki Chitose." She reached across the table, shaking his hand firmly. Confidently. Wow, she had a really good handshake, very impressive. "But! While I'm on the job, please call me Curious. It's my tagline, after all. 'Curiosity kills, but not this cat!' Meow!" She marked her statement with a playful claw at him, leaving him to awkwardly sit there and stare at her, unamused and waiting for his tea. He could already feel how awful this interview was going to be.

Seeing as she probably wasn't going to get any reaction out of him with her joke, she reached into her bag, a large black backpack she had placed on the floor by her chair. From within she pulled out a black composition notebook, like the kind he used in school. She flipped through it rapidly, and using his one good eye, he managed to catch a glimpse at a few names here and there. Manual, Death Arms, hell, he even saw Diariseki's codename among the mix, _The Bombastic Hero: Madhouse_ having been labeled with a bright purple marker instead of the red ink the rest of the book was filled with. Was that Fast Track she just flipped past? When the hell did she snag an interview with him? Regardless of the contents of the book, she eventually settled on a blank page and, with a flourish, wrote out his codename in a deep, red ink. _The Gigawatt Hero: Shock Jockey_.

"So!" She started, shifting in her seat a bit, "Let's get right to it, huh? When did yo- oh, thank you very much." Curious had turned away from her book to take her drink from the waitress. The young girl who brought them their orders then turned to him, holding out a cup of tea and a small cup of honey. She was tall and lithe, and had tattoos covering all of her visible skin, and gave him a wink when she noticed him looking at them.

"Here's your drink, and if the tats caught your eye at all, I know a girl-" She reached into her pants pocket, pulling out a small black card and placing it on the plate with his tea, and walking away without another word. He glanced downwards, the black card holding the name Ato on it in silver lettering. With the name was an address and a phone number, but no other information. He picked up the card and pocketed it, figuring it was something to hold on to. Maybe Himiko would like a birthday present one day, who knew?

Taking a sip of her drink, an overly sugary and foaming latte lookin' thing, Shogeki wasn't quite sure _what _it was, she got back to business. "Okay, so, when did you know you wanted to be a hero?"

"About the same time my quirk manifested." He said, using a teaspoon to add a bit of honey to his tea. He stirred it slowly, helping to mix and blend the two together, "Grandfather told me that my quirk was too strong to be wasted on Riot Police, started training me to box the next day."

"Oh?" She took a few notes as he took a drink. He couldn't be bothered to keep an eye on what she was writing- normally he would, but this was her chance at getting a job. She wasn't gonna risk taking heat from the Number 5 Hero just to get a job- that normally came with tenure. "So, what's that, had you been planning to join the Riot Police." Curious did a quick double take, "… Wait, at, you had to have been like 4 or 5, right?"

"Mhmm." He hummed. This tea was actually pretty damn good, could use a bit more honey though. He set about correcting that little honey imbalance.

She stared at him for a second, "Isn't that a bit young to be deciding on a career?"

Shogeki gave her a look, "I come from a long line of servicemen. My great-great-great grandfather was an EMT. My great-great grandfather, a detective. Great grandfather Akihito was a police officer, and my grandfather Akio followed suit, he still serves the 35th District to this day. My father, Shogeki Akihiro, works for the 12th District fire station, right on the edge of Musutafu." He shrugged, "I was just plannin' to keep within tradition."

"What do you mean by that?"

"What? Keeping with tradition?" She nodded, to which he shrugged again, "Everyone in the family that mattered has worked in public service. I figured it only made sense if I followed suit."

Curious rose a lavender eyebrow at him, "Everyone in the family _who mattered_? Who are the ones who _don't_ matter?"

"The one's we're not gonna talk about." He ground out, clenching his teeth. He tried to relax, not wanting to crack his teeth again like the other day. He still needed to set up a dentists appointment to get that checked out.

Shogeki's hostile tone had caused an awkward lull in the conversation as he glared at the blue skinned journalist. This was bad, while he would lose his temper with his classmates on a near constant basis, he was normally able to keep himself in check while in public. However, this woman was pushing his buttons, and she was clearly experienced at it.

His phone cut through the silence, a short, shrill screeching sound that a _certain someone_ had set as her message tone. He could only assume it was the stock sound effect of someone sharpening a knife. He picked it up, checking his messages to see what trouble the disguised psychopath could have gotten herself into.

_Kira! Check out who I ran into! _read the message. Attached was a photo of Himiko, still disguised as the moodish Uzumaki and _very clearly_ breaking her character. She was winking at the camera, and throwing up a peace sign with her free hand. Beside her, towering over Uzumaki's dumpy frame was… some dipshit. Even squinting at the phone he couldn't figure out who it was supposed to be. They were tall and lithe, and they were wearing a surgeon's mask on their face, pink lensed sunglasses and a dark purple hoodie.

_Is this supposed to he a reference to something stupid I haven't watched?_ He messaged back, putting his phone back down. When he looked up, Curious was giving him an odd look before she asked her next question.

"So, you're 17, a second year student at UA, and yet Miruko has already scouted you for her agency, huh? What's the story behind that?"

Oh boy, _this_ fuckin topic. He pinched the bridge of his nose as memories of the year prior flooded to the front of his mind. "Miruko thought I put on a good show at the Sports Festival of my first year, made a joke to her secretary about sending me an internship offer. Apparently, the secretary forgot about Miruko's strict _No Interns_ policy and sent it my way anyway."

"The look on your face is telling me that it wasn't a good experience."

_"Not in the goddamn slightest!"_ He pounded a fist against the table, drawing a few eyes their way. "The stupid bitch wanted to get me out of her hair right from the start! She asked to spar with me from second one and broke my damn leg, and left her interns to escort me out. I ended up fighting all of those bastards for 2 hours until she walked by the gym and heard the commotion."

"Wait, why were you fighting her interns?"

"Because I was threatening to find Miruko and shove my foot up her ass."

"… What?" Curious tried to hold in a laugh.

"Because I say stupid shit when I'm pissed. Either way, she took a liking to me and offered me a full internship when the time came for it. Only catch was that her agency had a strict _No Team Ups_ policy, too. She'll take all the good publicity for working with interns and students, but unless it's an extreme circumstance, I'm expected to handle myself."

"That's pushing a bit against the limits of a provisional license, don't you think?" She had been marking down notes like a madwoman this whole time. Shogeki suddenly got the distinct feeling that something was wrong, and gave the woman a look of suspicion. Either she was this excited during every interview she gave, or he was playing right into some plan of hers. He couldn't shake that feeling of paranoia he's had since he first walked into the cafe. Shogeki decided to try and be more careful, to try and avoid giving this lady any more information.

He would not be too successful

The interview continued in that same fashion for quite some time, moving from topic to topic every time Shogeki fucked up and let something slip. As entertained as she was watching him flounder in his statements, she seemed to not push too hard, the bits of his temper that she had seen seeming to be a warning to her not to push her luck. Eventually, after about an hour and a half, she seemed satisfied with the interview, and began to wrap everything up.

"Alright, one last question and I think we'll be finished." Curious said, taking a sip from her drink. She'd gotten a few refills, and hadn't left for the bathroom at all. Either her bladder hasn't caught up to her, or she was more determined than he'd been giving her credit for.

"Oh thank christ." Shogeki said under his breath. The waitress stopped by for a quick second, refilling his tea for him and offering another small cup of honey for him. As he set himself up, Curious asked her final question of the interview.

"Do you have any knowledge on the whereabouts of Toga Himiko?"

He glanced up from his tea, his eye locking onto her own. "Why is that something you'd ask _me_?"

"Standard policy of mine, these last few months." She tapped her notes, "I had been conducting a long-term investigation into Toga Himiko's life before she disappeared. I started retracing my steps, figured she must have somehow realized I was onto her. While I was out doing that, Daika City collapsed, taking my job and most of my resources along with it." She sighed, leaned back in her seat, and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "This investigation was going to be the highlight of my career. I _need_ to finish it, and to do that, I need Toga Himiko."

Shogeki held back a laugh, "Sorry to disappoint, lady. Miruko has been pretty tight lipped when it comes to League of Villains stuff. I've been trying to get info out of her for weeks so that I can go give that Dabi bastard a few thousands punches."

"Lying doesn't look good on you" Shock Jockey." Curious' frown seemed a bit more intense than it should.

He rose an eyebrow, "Lady, if you've got somethin' to say to me, than quit the theatrics and fuckin' say it."

Shogeki saw her demeanor shift, the aura she gave off going from aloof and friendly to almost hostile. She crossed her legs and tapped at her notes, "I looked at your records. You're one helluva intern, Jockey, almost a perfect record. A little _incident _in your first year when you were working for Miruko's agency, but the man you killed was a serial killer, and you broke your hand in the process, so the courts weren't too willing to sentence you for it."

He had been forced to grit his teeth during her whole little speech, "Get to the point, woman. I have other things to do with my time than listen to you list off my fuckups."

She scoffed, "According to my brother, you got your ass handed to you pretty hard. Knowing you and your track record, and what you're able to pull off with your quirk, Dabi shouldn't have been able to _touch_ you. I can only assume Dabi must have had some back-up."

"You're aware the League has more than just 2 members, right?"

"Twice had been sighted in Kamurocho that same day, tagging along with that Mister Compress guy. That only leaves Toga Himiko as the only available back-up at the time."

Kamurocho? What the hell was the League doing in Kamurocho? He'd pass the question onto Himiko later, but since she's been away from the League for so long any information she might have on their plans is probably outdated. He pushed the thought away for later and decided to shoot down the reporter, "The League had figured out someone was taking out their Trigger suppliers, and thought to set up a trap. When I tripped it, I got hit with a face full of quirk suppressant, and Dabi got warped in- where they found another jackass with a warp quirk is beyond me. My quirk was still active enough for me to avoid getting sent straight to a meeting with the Shinogami, but it wasn't enough to get out unscathed."

Curious stared at him, an odd look on her face, "… So, you have no knowledge of the whereabouts of Toga Himiko?"

"No." He noticed that she wrote down this short interaction into her book, word for word. His eye also caught the little note she wrote after it, _"Habitual liar"_, but decided to ignore the written jab at his credibility if it meant moving on from this particular topic.

His phone sounded out once again, another text from Himiko, this one reading, _Hey! I just found the __**cutest**_ _spot for our date! Hurry up, I wanna show you!_

_So long as they have decent tea I don't care what it is. I'm almost done here, have some patience._

_:o_

"Alright, well…" He reached down and picked up his bag, "My, uh… _Partner_, has been sending me some rather ominous texts in the last few minutes, so if we're done here I should probably go check on that-"

"Oh, wait, just one last tiny little thing before you go, Shock Jockey, I have a little side project that I would like your insight into. It might not be much, really I just wanted to see if any of this seemed familiar to you, ya know?" The reporter began digging through the backpack she had brought with her, seemingly searching for something. Her sudden personality shift seemed to have reverted, her initial playful and catty attitude returning.

"No, Nedzu is not a complicated rat puppet. Trust me, a certain classmate of mine was _thorough _in her investigation."

"I was-" Curious looked up from the backpack she brought with her, sending him an odd look. "I was going to ask you about the Children of Mann."

"That sounds like some made up bullshit."

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." She stuffed away the black composite notebook she'd been writing in, and quickly pulled out a red one in its place. This one seemed to be a bit more used, which told Shogeki that this one belonged to a longer term project. It was bulging unnaturally, meaning that it must contain more than just handwriting- if he had to make a guess, sticky notes or paper documents must be stuffed inside of it.

She opened up the notebook, beginning to flip through the pages, "For all the evidence that suggests that they exist, there's an equal amount that proves that they don't. Missing family members, journalists disappearing, dozens and dozens of abd-"

"Alright, fuckin' slow down long enough to answer my real question." Her gaze shot up to meet his, eyes a tad glazed. Clearly she's passionate about her work, he'd admit. "You haven't told me what this 'Cult of Mann' shit even is?"

"Oh, yeah, um, _supposedly_, they're a family-focused cult working out of somewhere in the Kans-"

Shogeki quickly stood up, grabbing onto the chair he'd been sitting in and launching it through the large glass display window at the front of the cafe. It crashed through the glass and broke apart on the sidewalk outside, while the other patrons of the cafe jumped at the sudden vandalism. Not even half a second after he threw his chair like a tennis ball, he grabbed onto a spare chair from the table behind him, pulled it up to his own table, and sat down, chin in his hands. "Cult working out of Kansai, yes?"

_"… Yeaaaaaaah…"_ Curious drawled slowly, "I take it… That you've uh, you have some… _experience_, with the organization in question."

The cold stare and deep grunt she received in response told her everything she needed.

She clicked her tongue, "Okay then. Well," Her phone gave off a short noise, she must have gotten a text or something. She quickly read it over before saying, "Alright, alright alright alright, uh, running out of time a bit so I'll make this quick. Most of the reporters who have gone looking into the whole thing either get assaulted or they disappear."

She noticed his frown grow, his eyes having gone blank as he seemed to begin getting lost in his thoughts. She assumed he was still listening and continued, "So, since we both have a shared interest in this little story of mine, I was hoping I could get som-"

"You want me to be your bodyguard, I get it." He cut her off, his eyes coming back to focus on her.

"Glad you pick up fast, that'll make this much easier on me. So, whatta ya say?" She gave him her slyest smile and leaned forward, folding her hands in front of her and resting her head on them.

He thought for a moment, this was big. The only connection he'd ever really had to this "Children of Mann" stuff was that priest he'd threaten once a year around Christmas.

"Fine. Put in a formal request at the Crescent Moon agency. Normally they'd automatically throw out anything that has my name on it since I'm still only an intern, but I'll give Miruko a heads up about this one."

"Um, sir-" He looked over at an older man, wearing an apron and a pair of glasses that made his eyes look twice as big as they should. "I- I need t-"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm leaving." He put his hand into his pocket, pulling out his wallet and taking out a bright green business card, "Here, I apologize about the window. Call this guy, he'll help you get it fixed, my mistake."

The student left with that. Shogeki honestly felt a little bad about the window. Normally damage from villain attacks are covered by the government- he had heard that the Americans had coverage through insurance or something of the such, but policies like that were better explained by Kitterland from his sister class. Regardless, Shogeki breaking a window in anger wouldn't be covered by the government and would leave the shop paying out of pocket for damages, so he hoped Pockets would actually make good on their deal of "mutual benefit" he had conned Shogeki into the year before.

Pinching his nose to try and ward off an oncoming headache, he pulled out his phone to give Himiko a call, but that damn ringtone began playing again. A quick glance told him it was Pockets and, cursing the store owner for calling so quickly, pressed the green button to-

_"YOU THREW A CHAIR THROUGH THEIR WINDOW?!"_ The business student sounded furious, which seemed about right.

"Yeah, get to fixing that problem for me, would y-"

"I will shove a brick up your ass, Shogeki!"

He sighed, "Worst part is, Himiko would probably help you do it."

"Who the fuck is Himiko?!"

"Not important, now are you gonna wire that nice old man his money to fix the window or ar-"

"Of course I'm getting him the money!" Pockets yelled, "But that's it, after that, I'm not getting you _jack SHIT _until I get my money from that cage match!"

"Yeah, about that, have you figured out just what Kazuki's quirk is, yet? Gonna be a real bitch to fight him if I don't figure out the specifics in time."

Shogeki heard the con man sputter over the phone, fumbling over his words in anger before he simply screeched, "FIGURE IT OUT YOURSELF, ASSHOLE!", and hung up. The hero student sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose for a few seconds to try and de-stress. Once he'd calmed himself down, he lifted his phone to call Himiko. Whatever fuck-stupid activity she'd found for them to do might just give him a chance to relax for a while.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Wait, she tricked you into going to a _maid cafe?!_"

"I deeply resent how they have forced themselves into Japanese culture over the last few centuries." Shogeki's angry tone sent Diariseki into a fit of laughter, high pitched and mocking as they sat on the couch. Himiko sat off a little ways, legs crossed on the floor with Sakana as they played some card game or whatever, he couldn't be bothered to care.

"Oh hey, thanks for meeting with my sister, Chitose-nee was able to snag an interview with Gouya Publishing in Osaka, so your interview is probably gonna help her land that job."

Shogeki turned to him, "She's setting herself up in Osaka?"

"Yeah, that's right." Diariseki nodded his head, "Hey, while I have you, you think I could ask some questions about Tots-"

"… The Osaka in the _Kansai _Region, correct?"

"Well, th- the maps haven't changed at all since we learned them in grade school, dude, yes the Osaka in Kansai. So, anyway, about Totsu, he and Sakana and I kind of have this thing going on, and I wanted to ask you for some advice on how I should, you know, approach the whole situation, ya know?"

"Hmm…" So Curious was setting herself up in the same region those Children of Mann fuckers are, huh? She's dedicated and gutsy, he'll give her that. Figures out where the snake den is and decides to set her tent right in the center.

"Uh, everything, everything okay on your end?" Diariseki asked, "If this is a bad time, I get it, but I could real-"

"… Just peachy…" Shogeki mumbled absently, cutting him off. He got up from his spot on the couch, ignoring Diariseki's attempts to talk as he headed over to the front door. "Himiko, get your ass over here."

"But I have Uno!" The girl cried, holding up her singular card. Sakana sat across from her on the floor, holding only 3 cards. Apparently, the blonde was on the cusp of victory.

"That's a shame, ass, over here, _now_." His words made her pout like a child, throwing her card onto the floor and stomping over to him, walking past him and out the door he was holding open.

"… just wanna stare at my ass." She grumbled, folding her arms in front of her. He ignored her, closing the door behind him. Shogeki originally had no intention to look, but found his eyes drawn downwards after she spoke. His gaze shot back up just in time for her to turn around, and if she caught him looking she said nothing. She leaned against the trunk of a tree a little ways away from the dorm's front door, raising an eyebrow at him. "Well?"

He stood in front of her, crossing his own arms and mimicking her stance. "The fight with that bastard Kazuki is in a few days."

Just like that, Himiko's bad mood was wiped away by the large smile on her face. "Oh yeah! Oh, are you gonna get beat up?!"

"… Possibly." He admitted, watching her begin to dance with glee at his foreseen misery. "But that's not the point, the point is that I don't know how Kazuki's quirk works.

"… Okay, and?"

"And, you're going to help me with that."

She stared at him for a few seconds before she tilted her head a bit, "Huh?"

"I said, you're gonna help me figure out how his quirk works."

"Why would I do that, Kira-kun?" Her confusion slipped away and a terrible smile lit up her face, "If you go in blind, you'll get all beaten up and bloody, and that makes Himiko a _happy girl_."

"You'll do it," He pressed forward, having learned that sandbagging someone's antics is usually best way to deal with them, "Because I'm your partner, and you d-"

"My what?"

"… Your partner."

Himiko tucked her hands behind her back, starting to rock back and forth on the balls of her feet. "Mmmmmm, nope! Don't know what you mean by that!"

Shogeki narrowed his eyes, "I know what you're doing, and it's not gonna work, now focus on the-"

"I dunno, _Shogeki-san_," She had turned away from him, staring at him from her peripherals, "I don't think I have a _partner_. I thought I had a big strong _boyfriend_, but I guess he doesn't feel the same wa-"

"You know I could just pay Pockets to sneak into Saito's room, you are aware of that, right?" He bluffed. After their conversation earlier, there was no way that scumbag was gonna help him out until after he won that fight.

She stopped rocking on her feet and shrugged her shoulders, turning back towards the dorm entrance, "Oh okay. I'm gonna go see if Kaisha-chan can cry even harder than she normally do-"

"God damnit, _fine!_" She spun on her heels and gazed up at him expectantly. He grit his teeth, taking note that she had to suppress a smile when she saw this, and ground out, "I'm your _boyfriend_, you want me to be safe and unhurt."

She smiled, a big smile, genuine. She wasn't showing off her fangs like normal, and instead her lips were closed, as were her eyes. It seemed pure, not anything like the creepish, lusty smile she'd normally have. Shogeki felt suddenly hot, and short of breath, feeling his heart beating in his ears. He pushed it down and away, coughing as he tried to regain his composure, very much aware of what she's doing to him.

"Alright, I said it, now for your end of the deal."

"Mmmmmm, hmhmhm," She was barely listening, seemingly lost in whatever imaginary world her mind goes to when she gets her way.

"Hey." Shogeki snapped his fingers in her face a few times, managing to bring her back to reality. "C'mon, focus. We're in real work hours, I need your full attention."

Himiko blinked a few times, before snapping her feet together, raising her hand to give him an old fashioned American style salute. "Bleeding Hero: Syringe, reporting!"

"The name sucks, keep working on it."

"Yes sir!"

The name situation addressed, he pulled out a small slip of paper from his back pocket, "This is a rough blueprint of the campus, use this to find Saito's room. She's the notekeeper type, she's bound to have some analytics written down somewhere."

She took the small piece of paper from his hand, glancing at it before looking back at him. "Wait, can't you just ask Tesuto-kun to figure out his quirk?"

"Tes already knows his quirk, he just won't tell me. Either he thinks it's fun to watch me figure this out for myself, or Rifuto that _bitch _asked him to keep his mouth shut, and _everyone knows _he's a sucker for her fucking stupid puppy eye bullshit, that albino BITCH!"

"… Uh…?" She raised an eyebrow, glancing at his clenched fists, "Are yo-"

"I'M FINE!" He yelled at her, before he held his hands up, "I'm- I'm, trying, alright, I'm trying, I lost my temper, I- This is harder than it should be." Shogeki breathed in, slowly letting the air leave his lungs as he counted to 10 in his head. "Alright… Where were we?"

"Planning our next date, you sai-"

"Nice try." He flicked her nose, Himiko letting out a squawk that made him let out a small chuckle as she covered her nose. "Alright, the time is about… 5:30. Dinner will be soon, and Ainsley should be making… something, I don't know what."

"I think he mentioned something with meat."

"Well, I guess that's a silver lining. Whatever, let's go and get you disgu-"

Shogeki was cut off when the door behind them opened up, the robot Kikai appearing rather upset as they grasped the doorframe with metal fingers, "Shogeki-kun, there you are- We need you in here, Hone and Ainsley have begun arguing about- Oh, something or other. Kaisha has begun to cry again, and- Well, Netto and I cannot practice our fabulous poses under such strenuous circumstances!" A metal hand rested dramatically against Kikai's glowing faceplate, "We need you to help us bring Hone back under control, please. For the sake of _ART!_"

"… Kikai-kun, we're kind of in the middle of something." Himiko said, grabbing onto Shogeki's sleeves. He looked her over and noticed that she actually looked rather upset. She gazed up at him and gave what he had to assume was her attempt at puppy dog eyes, trying to make their time alone last, he guessed.

Sighing, Shogeki said, "Yeah, we're- we're kinda having a moment, if you could just get Totsu or Chikara to-"

A loud cracking sound came from within the dorms, and a strong gust of ice cold wind blew past the robot. The dorms within had suddenly gone deathly silent, and Shogeki could only click his tongue in annoyance. "God… _fucking damnit_, Hone." He stomped away from her and towards the door, pushing Kikai out of the way. He quickly turned back around and pointed a stern finger at the blonde girl, "Remember what you have to do. Nightfall, _tonight_, don't forget." When she nodded her understanding, he entered the building, where she immediately began to hear him scream at the other students.

Himiko looked down at the small note she held in her hands. She took a deep breath, trying to focus herself. Why was she feeling a pit in her stomach? She'd invaded other people's homes before, this shouldn't be any harder. Sure, there was a bunch of security cameras everywhere, and pro heroes living on the campus, and a ton of highly powerful, highly trained, highly _violent_ hero students spread all around. Nothing she couldn't handle.

She idly glanced up at Kikai's faceplate as she walked into the building, the baby blue, heart shaped LED that was embedded into their face glowing softly as they pat her on the head. Her knees almost buckled beneath Kikai's strength as they walked into the building together, Kira's loud screaming now being mixed together with Hone's own angry yells and Ainsley's heavily accented English.

Yeah, she was sure she'd get those notes just fine.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Himiko grunted softly, pulling herself up to stand on the windowsill, the small ledge only large enough for the front half of her feet. Holding on to the crevices in between the bricks of the building, she carefully squatted down, peering into the room in front of her. Other than the light of the moon above her, the room was dark, devoid of any movement. She could see the edge of a fancy looking bed off to the side, and Himiko had to assume that Saito-chan was fast asleep, dreaming of the boy who so held her affections.

Quickly getting to work, she pulled out the small metal tools from her hair. She was lucky that Uzumaki had such long, thick hair- it made it easier to hold small little trinkets like pens and screwdrivers and scalpels she stole from the nurse's office. Himiko used her tools to get the window open, a screw or two falling to the earth beneath her as she pulled the window out of its frame, just a little bit. She was then able to use the small, wire thin rod she had made from a coat hanger to reach through the opening she had made and unlock the window, tossing the wire rod onto the ground far below.

She held the small tools in between her teeth, slowly prying the window open. She had to maneuver her body around a bit since the window opened outwards, but she was eventually able to open it wide enough to let herself inside. This was far from her first home invasion, and she knew exactly what to do to not get caught.

Her toes touched the soft carpet of the girl's room. Slowly, carefully, she allowed her full weight to rest on the floor, delighted by the lack of creaking in the floors. She moved her eye away from the floor, using the little light from the moon to-

To…

'What the hell?' She thought to herself, looking around at the room before her. Saito-chan was fast asleep in her bed a few steps away, sleeping peacefully like Sleeping Beauty awaiting her Prince Charming. But, the room itself full of large, wooden bookshelves, and within each bookshelf were dolls.

Life-like dolls.

There had to be hundreds of them, some ranging to the size of her thumb, others to be so life-like as to look like actual toddlers, dressed up in Victorian-era clothings. They all had this weird sheen to them, like they were wet- er, maybe coated in lotion or something.

A glint of moonlight reflecting off of something caught Himiko's attention. On a small desk near the bookshelf, Saito-chan had a picture frame, and within it was a picture of herself and the tall boy Kira-kun hates so much. His name was… Kazuki-kun, right? They were wearing really nice clothes, Himiko guessed it had to have been taken at a big fancy party or something?

Wait, no, she couldn't get distracted. She was here for the notebook, gotta get the notebook. She crept over to the bookshelf, trying to find which one could have been filled with quirk data. Most of them were hardcover journals, very expensive looking volumes, and most of them had their spines labeled, stuff like "Blackmail for Fun", "Kitterland's Policies", "Domination for the Teenage Girl". These sounded pretty fun, Himiko would have to ask if she could borrow that last one, maybe she'd learn how to properly _handle_ Kira-kun on their wedding night.

No, Saito-chan wouldn't keep quirk information in a fancy book. Figuring out quirk data takes time and effort- she'd have to spend time with Kazuki in a gym or private training area, it would be much easier to carry around a normal composition book. That's what Deku-kun did, right? Her eyes roamed the shelves, trying to find the thinner, paperback books.

Alright, notebooks, there they were. Lower right corner of the second shelf next to the door. Out of the way, the least likely place anyone would look. That's where a rich person would hide their less expensive belongings like notebooks. That's where people keep notes. Notes on classes, notes on boys, notes on business deals. Saito-chan was definitely the record keeping type, so one of these, that one! She gently and quietly pulled out a mint green composition notebook, the words 'Kazuki Combat Effectiveness' printed neatly on the cover. Himiko knew this was the right one, it had the smell of a maiden, one who was writing about someone so very dear to them.

She shoved the notebook under her shirt, keeping her hands free to climb back out the window. Himiko made to leave the room- these dolls were starting to creep even _her _out- but she didn't want to just up and leave, that would be so rude! So instead of leaving, she tiptoed over to Saito-chan, carefully leaning over to look at the sleeping girl and placing a kiss on her head.

"Sleep tight Saito-_chaaaaan~_" She sang, creeping back over to the window. She gazed back at the black haired girl one last time, throwing a leg over the windowsill to-

The wire that was suddenly around her neck cut into her skin, Saito roughly grabbing onto the girl and pulling her to the ground. The wire was pulled tighter, and Himiko was suddenly _very_ annoyed that she wasn't allowed to carry any weapons with her.

"10 years of being trained night after night to defend against intruders." Saito ground out. Her legs had wrapped themselves around Himiko's shoulders, trying to pull her hands away from her neck, "A little whelp like you, one of the less talented of those _pathetic _hero students, you thought you could steal from me?"

Himiko planted her feet and kicked off of the floor, rolling backwards and wrapping her legs around Saito-chan's neck, squeezing, trying to loosen the girl's grip on the wire. The garot was suddenly pulled tighter, too tight, and she felt herself go lightheaded as she lost the upper hand. Saito-chan kicked her off, putting her back in the position they started in, arms held back by Saito's powerful legs and Himiko thrashing around and trying to escape.

"Hrn- _Feisty_, aren't you little, you redheaded tramp?" Himiko's captor grunted, and the intruder could hear her begin to smile. "You don't quite seem to understand what you're getting yourself into with that Shogeki bo-" She grunted as Himiko's elbow jabbed her leg, "Hnn… You think you understand yourself, huh? You think you're a _big girl_, Uzumaki? Well, let's see what you _really_ adore, Uzumaki dear." Saito growled out, before sucking in a large lungful of air. Himiko couldn't see what was happening, but she could feel the legs that pinned her down changing, growing larger and thicker. The strength that she fought against grew stronger, and a deep laugh came from behind her. "Well. I guess I should have seen this coming, now shouldn't I?"

That was Kira's voice.

There was a mirror to her left, and the intruder tried to jerk her head towards, deathly curious as to what was happening. Her eyes landed on herself, Uzumaki's red hair as wild and as tangled as ever. She was clawing at her neck, blood covering her fingers as she fought against the garot. Large hands held tight onto the wire- and the rough, menacing smile of her Kira sneered back at her.

"I should have guessed Shogeki-san's little friend would have been head over heels for him. Typical. He always does get what he wants. But that's not all this face reveals, now is it, my dear?" Ki- No, Saito, Saito leaned closer to Himiko, her breath in her captive's ear. "These aren't Shogeki's eyes. He's only got the one, doesn't he, a bright orange? Not these dull brown eyes you crave so much. And he certainly looks downright _tacky _with green hair, wouldn't you say?"

Himiko stopped clawing at her neck and tried to go for Saito's hands instead, but Uzumaki's penchant for biting her nails was making this whole ordeal far more difficult than it had to be. She tried tearing at the girl's skin, pinching her, punching, but she was at a loss of ways to escape.

Until Saito let her go.

Himiko sucked in air like her life depended on it, her lungs on fire as Saito grabbed her clothes and, without nary a second thought, threw her right out the window. The blonde was thankful there was still some leftover snow piles strewn around campus from the last snowstorm, or else she'd have broken enough bones to make Deku-

_Deku._

The window above her slammed shut, the blinds closing roughly as Himiko laid still in the snowbank, bleeding and choking. Why did Saito have Kira's face? Why did it have Ochaco-chan's eyes? And Deku's hair? She had a transformation type quirk, that much was for sure. It couldn't have been an illusion- Saito was only a few inches taller than she was as Uzumaki, and the Business student clearly didn't have the strength to throw her as easily as she did. But Kira did, and Deku, and Ochaco-chan too.

_"Let's see what you __**really**_ _adore, Uzumaki dear."_

Adoration. That had to be a part of it. As Himiko pulled herself together and climbed out of the snowbank, she had a thought. Perhaps Saito could turn herself into other people, like Himiko could- like she was currently doing. But what were the limits, it couldn't have been by Saito's choice, she'd have just turned into a perfect copy of Kira if that was the case.

_"What you __**really **__adore."_

Her own adoration? Could that be it? Could she change into people that others adored? Himiko was the only one there, so it would make sense that she'd be the one the transformation is pulled from. Did the transformation reflect her own feelings? Did she adore Kira more than she adored Deku and Ochaco-chan? But she loved them so much! There was no way…

When was the last time Himiko even saw them? As she limped back to the 2-B dorms, notebook clutched tightly to her shivering form, she tried to remember when she last laid eyes on her crushes. It had been so long since they had last been together, since she last saw them all beaten up. Since she'd last seen them smile. Had she ever seen them smile? She did, right?

"Himiko, what in the fuck happened to you?" A concerned voice rang out through the night. She looked up, and Kira was standing beside her, pushing her towards the dorms, grumbling under his breath the whole way. "First thing- this was the _first damn thing _I had asked ya to do, and you come back looking like the damn Bloody Mary, can't you ever take care of yourself?"

Kira kicked in the door, most likely waking up more than a few of their housemates in the process. "Get in you menace, I'm gonna go get some first aid shit, you sit your ass down on the couch."

Kira stomped away after that, heading into the kitchen as she took a seat on the couch. Her throat had begun to hurt, and she found she couldn't raise her voice any more than a whisper. She turned her quirk off, letting her disguise melt away. She… didn't really know what was happening, right now. She didn't know how she should be feeling. Should she be upset that she got tricked? Saito had clearly expected them to steal her notes. How hadn't Kira expected that? How hadn't _she _expected that?

She was thumped on the head with a bottle of peroxide, her boyfriend sitting in front her on the coffee table. "Stop thinking so much, I can see the smoke comin' out your ears." He mumbled, carefully soaking a cottonball in some of the peroxide. He held it up and gave her a smirk, "Try not to get off on this, will ya?"

Himiko pouted and blew air into his face, before hissing as he started to clean her neck. As he focused on her neck, she nudged his stomach with the notebook. "I got the book." She rasped. Boy, Saito-ch- _san._ Saito-_san_ had really done a number on her throat, huh?

Kira didn't look away from his task as he took the book and tossed it to the side. "Try not to get fucked up next time. It was just info, I could have beaten his face in without it. This just makes it easier. Not worth getting thrown out a second story window."

"Third story." She coughed, holding up 3 fingers, "Someone else was on the second floor. I had to climb up an extra floor. I think I broke one of the gutters."

He stared at her for a few seconds, before poking her forehead, twisting his finger against the skin. "You've got a brain, Himiko. Try using it every so often. I can't be the only one of us who thinks."

"God knows you think up stupid plans sometimes." She teases him, trying to break up the tension. She didn't like it when things got so tense between them, she didn't like it when he got too serious. She didn't like the look he was giving her, either, that tired, disappointed look he gave her when he was upset but didn't want to say anything.

He opened a bandage, sticking it to her cheek. She nuzzled into his touch, and it took a few seconds before he could bring himself to pull away. "… You're good to go, girl." He muttered as he leaned back, packing away the first aid supplies. He'd have to replace some of it, the small white box was getting a bit low. Next time he went out, he'll try and get some replacements for it. "Try not to get into any more trouble. Fast Track is coming by tomorrow to run you through some drills. Listen to him." Kira stood, stepping away from her and returning the kit back to where it belonged.

"… Hey, Kira-kun?" She rasped, coughing again. He turned to look over his shoulder, eyebrow raised inquisitively, "Thank you for being my nurse." Kira grunted, stomping away into the kitchen to put the first aid kit away, leaving Himiko to be alone with her thoughts.

She was sloppy. She had made mistakes she hadn't made for years and years. That wasn't like her, oh no, not at all. What was happening to her? Was she getting soft? Was this school making her lose her edge? She balled up her hands, a determined scowl on her face as she stood up. No more, she decided, she was gonna start getting herself back to where she should be. Kira was right, she'd been letting other people do so much for her lately, and now that she finally had the chance to do something on her own she almost failed.

Kira came back and she quickly grabbed onto his shirt, leaning up to place a kiss on his chin. His head whipped around, trying to make sure they were alone, she guessed, before he leant down to kiss her forehead. "Go to bed, don't make me say it again. God damn, leech." The last part was mumbled under his breath, but she still managed to catch it.

"Sweet dreams, baby." She croaked as he walked off, leaving her to walk out of the common room and head up the steps to her own room, still barren and undecorated. On her way up to the third floor, she had a stray thought. "Leech, huh?" She tapped on one of her fangs, thinking the word over. "Leech, leech, leechy? Leechie? Hmm…" She closed the door behind her, throwing the word around a bit more as she changed. "Huh… I kinda like that…"

_**AN- **__Thanks as always to ProfoundCranium/BloodDrinker for acting as my editor. Remember to check out the AO3 Version, my Twitter DioHeavenly, my Tumblr heavenly-dio, and my discord server for updates, cut content, and the wide array of art of the characters_

_**2-A Student Spotlight**_

_**Uzumaki Ume- Female**_

Birthday- 8-15

Quirk- Spin

Hero Name- Kurozu Hero: Uzumaki

Heroic Rank 14

Academic Rank 12

Long, tangled red hair to her mid-back, green eyes with very tiny, circular glasses. Inattentive, often gets distracted when she's bored. Oversized hoodies and sweatpants are her go to, standing at 5'2. Looks grungy, usually smoking a cigarette. Loves fighting games. Hates being told what not to do. Her older brother said she couldn't be a hero, so now she will just to spite him. Currently dating a first year student from the General Education Department.


End file.
